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Housing Commons Research Centre

@housingcommonsca.bsky.social
31 followers 21 following 7 posts

Research, connect and collaborate on community-led housing in Canada. For updates, subscribe to our website at housingcommonsresearch.ca. We are a part of New Housing Alternatives @newhousingalt.bsky.social at the University of Toronto‬.

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jeremywithers.bsky.social @jeremywithers.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
Great to talk with the Vancouver Sun about: - how concentrated the ownership of rental properties is in the hands of large financial firms, and; - these firms' track record of aggressively raising rents and evicting tenants. 🧵👇 vancouversun.com/opinion/colu...
vancouversun.com
New data reveals scope of big-money investors in B.C. rental home market
The new data makes it 'really hard to support the claim that large institutional investors are somehow dominating the market' — Tsur Somerville, professor at the Sauder School of Business at UBC
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jeremywithers.bsky.social @jeremywithers.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
Great talking to The Star on Ontario’s $178M bailout of a financial firm’s 1700 unit rental project. In exchange, 340 will be priced for mid-income renters for 40 years. Thats’s $524k each. Investing in non-profit ➡️ far more stable & affordable. But Ford knows that. www.thestar.com/real-estate/...
thestar.com
Ontario is putting up to $178 million into a stalled Toronto rental project. Is it a good investment or ‘bailout’?
The province is funding the investment for the Scarborough project through the Build Ontario Fund, a Crown agency whose mandate is to invest in infrastructure that makes a profit.
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New Housing Alternatives @newhousingalt.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
NHA's Senior Researcher Jeremy Withers talks to The Star about Ontario's mounting bailout of developers & financial firms. $178M is more than Ontario's projected to spend on affordable housing this year. These huge investments should leave homes in the hands of communities, not financial firms.
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New Housing Alternatives @newhousingalt.bsky.social · 26/05/2026
Our new report tracks a sharp rise in the number of neighbourhoods gentrifying across 🇨🇦 over the past two decades. City by city, we map the spread of gentrification from 1961-2021, shining a spotlight on displacement of working class communities. 🧵👇 newhousingalternatives.ca/mapping-the-...
newhousingalternatives.ca
Mapping the Gentrification of Canadian Cities 1961-2021 - New Housing Alternatives
The report maps the spread of gentrification across the inner-city of Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Calgary, Ottawa, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Quebec City,
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New Housing Alternatives @newhousingalt.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
Out today! Our report for CMHC reveals stark differences in tenant protections across Canada, asking who might be at higher risk of eviction? We assess the strength of rent controls & eviction protections for each province & territory. newhousingalternatives.ca/jurisdiction...
newhousingalternatives.ca
Jurisdictional Differences in Eviction Risk Across Canada - New Housing Alternatives
The report reveals stark differences in the strength of tenant protections across Canada, asking who might be at higher risk of eviction?
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New Housing Alternatives @newhousingalt.bsky.social · 17/04/2026
Out now! Kensington Market CLT talks about how communities can fight for neighbourhood change on their own terms, and win! - organizing to stop a Walmart - preventing renovictions - winning funds to buy 3 apartments - preparing to break ground on new builds podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/c...
podcasts.apple.com
Community Land Trusts and the Future of Kensington Market
Podcast Episode · New Housing Alternatives · April 17 · 31m
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Housing Commons Research Centre @housingcommonsca.bsky.social · 31/03/2026
Webinar Recording: Loyal to the Soil: Eco-villages and Eco-communities in Canada housingcommonsresearch.ca/eco-villages... What does it take to build sustainable, community-led housing in Canada? Wendy Reid Fairhurst, Rob Cole, and Mary-Kate Craig share insights. #housing #canada
housingcommonsresearch.ca
Loyal to the Soil: Eco-villages and Eco-communities in Canada Webinar - Housing Commons Research Centre
What does it take to build sustainable, community-led housing in Canada?
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New Housing Alternatives @newhousingalt.bsky.social · 30/03/2026
Housing bail out - who benefits? A clear winner: the nearly "50 private funds & high-net-worth individuals buying...condos in batches of 40 to 50” The $2.2B HST break gives these firms "another financial incentive" to bulk buy - up to $130k per home 👇🧵 www.theglobeandmail.com/business/art...
theglobeandmail.com
Condo investment fund set to benefit from Ontario’s proposed tax break
Rebate gives High Art Capital a financial incentive to make bulk purchases of unsold condos to add them to the rental market
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New Housing Alternatives @newhousingalt.bsky.social · 26/03/2026
Ontario will offer up to $130k tax breaks for all buyers of new homes, including investors buying “rental property”. Before, the HST rebate was for 1st-time buyers. Now, it will help buyers who already own outbid those who don’t, costing the public dearly. www.ctvnews.ca/toronto/poli...
ctvnews.ca
All Ontario buyers will be eligible for HST rebate on new homes for one year, Ford says
Premier Doug Ford says the province and federal government plan to temporarily expand the HST rebate for new homes in the province, allowing all buyers a rebate of up to $130,000.
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Housing Commons Research Centre @housingcommonsca.bsky.social · 08/03/2026
Recent webinar recap: Held Together Community Land Trust researchers and practitioners from Canada, Brazil, and the UK discussed how community-led housing is securing land and building long-term housing stability. Read + watch: housingcommonsresearch.ca/community-la... #HousingCommons #CLT
housingcommonsresearch.ca
Community Land Trusts as a Global Housing Solution | Webinar
HCRC Webinar - Researchers from Canada, Brazil, and the UK explore how Community Land Trusts respond to housing financialization.
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Housing Commons Research Centre @housingcommonsca.bsky.social · 25/02/2026
Webinar on Feb 26: What changes when housing is something we hold together? Researchers and practitioners from around the world reflect on CLTs as living infrastructure. Housing doesn’t have to be a commodity! Join: Thur, Feb 26, 12-1:30 pm housingcommonsresearch.ca/event/held-t... #housingcommons
housingcommonsresearch.ca
Held Together: Research on Community Land Trusts Around the World | Webinar - Housing Commons Research Centre
Reserve Your Spot Around the world, communities are pushing back against housing systems that treat homes as financial assets rather than places to live. From Canada to the UK and...
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Housing Commons Research Centre @housingcommonsca.bsky.social · 03/02/2026
🎥 Webinar Recording: Exchanging Futures – International Perspectives on Housing Commons is now available! Watch thoughtful discussions on women-led housing and global exchanges between Canada & Uganda. 🔗 housingcommonsresearch.ca/exchanging-f...
housingcommonsresearch.ca
Exchanging Futures: Housing Commons International Exchange
Watch our webinar exploring Housing Commons across Canada & Uganda, women-led housing movements, and international knowledge exchange.
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Housing Commons Research Centre @housingcommonsca.bsky.social · 05/12/2025
“True to This, Not New to This” — Full Webinar Video on Black Land Stewardship Survey Overview The Housing Commons Research Centre's inaugural webinar explored community-led housing and land stewardship through historical and contemporary perspectives. Susanna Bunce introduced the centre, funded…
housingcommonsresearch.ca
“True to This, Not New to This” — Full Webinar Video on Black Land Stewardship
Survey Overview The Housing Commons Research Centre's inaugural webinar explored community-led housing and land stewardship through historical and contemporary perspectives. Susanna Bunce introduced the centre, funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, which connects researchers and practitioners on alternative housing initiatives. Sam Carter Shamai discussed his H.E.R.E. project, an interdisciplinary land-based research effort about Black cooperative efforts in the early 1900s and intergenerational land stewardship in Virginia; and 
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Housing Commons Research Centre @housingcommonsca.bsky.social · 17/11/2025
Our first HCRC webinar is next week! True to This, Not New to This explores the deep roots of community-led housing through land stewardship, mutual aid, and freedom-making. RSVP: housingcommonsresearch.ca/webinars/com... #CommunityLedHousing #LandStewardship #MutualAid #HousingJustice
housingcommonsresearch.ca
True to This, Not New to This – Community-Led Housing Roots
Explore the deep roots of community-led housing through Black land stewardship, mutual aid, and freedom-making traditions in this free webinar.
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New Housing Alternatives @newhousingalt.bsky.social · 12/11/2025
New from NHAs' blog: our analysis of Ontario's Bill 60. Bill 60, as proposed, will make it easier & faster to evict tenants. We explore 6 proposed changes, showing how they will erode tenants protections & further fuel Ontario's homelessness crisis 👇🧵 newhousingalternatives.ca/ontarios-bil...
newhousingalternatives.ca
Ontario’s Bill 60 Will Make it Easier and Faster for Landlords to Evict Tenants - New Housing Alternatives
Doug Ford's Bill 60 proposes changes to the Residential Tenancies Act that will erode tenant protections and worsen the homelessness crisis.
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Housing Commons Research Centre @housingcommonsca.bsky.social · 06/10/2025
What if housing was treated as a shared responsibility, not a commodity? We’re launching the Housing Commons Research Centre (HCRC) with a public panel on Oct 17 exploring housing as a commons, featuring leaders from Canada’s alternative housing movement. RSVP: www.eventbrite.com/e/reimaginin...
Event poster for the Housing Commons Research Centre (HCRC) Launch Panel. The background features soft, earth-toned gradients with abstract housing silhouettes. Text reads:

“Towards a New Commons: Introducing the Housing Commons Research Centre.”
Join us for a panel discussion exploring housing as a shared responsibility and collective right.
Friday, October 17, 2025 | 7:00–9:00 PM | In-person at the New Housing Alternatives Annual Workshop.

Featuring: Chiyi Tam (Toronto Chinatown Community Land Trust), Norm Leech (Frog Hollow Neighbourhood House & Downtown Eastside CLT), Jesse Upton Crowe & Babie (Encampment Support & Mutual Aid Advocates), and Courtney Lockhart (Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada).
Hosted by Dr. Susannah Bunce and Nat Pace, co-leads of the HCRC.

Logos for the Housing Commons Research Centre (HCRC) and New Housing Alternatives appear at the bottom.
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New Housing Alternatives @newhousingalt.bsky.social · 22/05/2025
Check out Lincoln Institute of Land Policy's new report on the global Community Land Trust movement. It features a chapter by NHA partners Dominique Russell (Kensington Market CLT) & Sue Bunce (UofT), which explores the growth of CLTs across Canada. www.lincolninst.edu/publications...
lincolninst.edu
International Commentaries on Preserving Affordable Homeownership - Lincoln Institute of Land Policy
This collection of six global commentaries reflects on the Preserving Affordable Homeownership Policy Focus Report published by the Lincoln Institute in partnership with the International Center for C...
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