Thematic sessions
-Housing

April 19, 2023 – This session looked at the links between housing and immigration with a diverse group of practitioners and thought leaders. Attended by the Minister of Housing and Diversity and Inclusion, there was also representation from the business community, housing developers, think tanks, academia and civil society organizations.

Participants expressed the importance of applying an affordable housing lens to future immigration policies, including to the possibility of encouraging newcomers to settle in communities where housing pressures are not as acute. They also underlined that a robust rental market is important, since most newcomers start out as renters. Some other considerations were targeted and regional immigration measures for workers in the construction industry to ensure a sustained supply of skilled workers, and introducing a multi-pronged approach to increase housing supply via investments in new innovative initiatives, while safeguarding the current stock of affordable housing. It was also acknowledged that systemic racism continues to be a challenge facing newcomers, as well as visible minority Canadians and members of Indigenous communities.