About

People, Places, Policies and Prospects is a nation-wide and internationally collaborating research group that began in 2020 and investigates affordable rental housing for those in greatest need. We are a unique academic and community partnership that involves dozens of researchers, professionals, students and lived experts from various universities and communities across Canada and USA. We are one of five research teams within Canada’s Collaborative Housing Research Network (CHRN), a joint CMHC-SSHRC research initiative. Check out our CMHC Project Profile here.

The specific question that drives our research is this: How do different types of affordable rental housing affect the most vulnerable Canadians? There are different ways that governments and communities across Canada provide affordable rental housing, however, there is little evidence as to which of these ways provide the best outcomes for tenants. Our research aims to develop a better understanding of which supports, if any, provide the best tenant outcomes.

The context of our study is this: currently, a range of programs help low-income Canadians with housing affordability, and many of these will be strengthened through Canada’s National Housing Strategy. These programs include rent-geared-to-income (RGI) stock (such as public housing), and rent supplements (which are provided directly to landlords to help bridge the gap between 30% of income and shelter costs). Housing allowances are a third example, which are similar to supplements, although financial assistance is provided directly to tenants so they can live in market or community housing.

In the National Housing Strategy, programs like these are stated to result in positive social and economic benefits (also called outcomes) for those who receive them. The problem, however, is that the benefits that tenants may experience as a result of receiving such assistance have received little attention in Canada. In addition, we do not understand how different programs (e.g., RGI units, rent supplements, housing allowances) may result in distinctive outcomes for tenants. This is surprising, especially since policy development is increasingly based on evidence. Without data, policy decisions around housing provision are based on best guesses and good intentions. It is precisely this gap in knowledge and evidence that our team intends to fill as one of the research teams within the Collaborative Housing Research Network.

We assess five priority topics:

housing stability
health and well-being
neighborhood opportunities
housing satisfaction and condition
and economic hardship.

Our research and data collection takes place in three locations across Canada: in the Atlantic, Central, and Prairie regions. We also leverage data collected at the national level from the Canada Housing Survey, collected by Statistics Canada and the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). We also have a Gender Based Analysis Plus (GBA+) team that researches feminist housing and ensures a GBA+ lens is implemented into all of our projects across our regions.

Atlantic Region (Sydney, Nova Scotia)

The Cape Breton Regional Municipality (CBRM) in the Atlantic Region features a high prevalence of core housing need. Cape Breton University is the headquarters of our partnership grant and home of our Community-University Housing Research Lab. Our various ongoing and completed studies are done in collaboration with community partners. Research goals include understanding the experiences of low-income tenants living in various types of affordable rental housing, such as public housing provided by the province(s), rent supplements like the Canada Housing Benefit, and non-profit housing provided by community partner organizations. We document affordable housing ‘stories’ that highlight the importance of affordable housing for low-income renters, and how it contributes to community wellbeing. We collect data in Sydney, Nova Scotia and surrounding areas in the CBRM; across the province of Nova Scotia; and in provinces across Atlantic Canada. To collect data, we use an interview guide that is shared across all our regions, ensuring that our research can be synthesized nationally and keep with the GBA+ lens that is integral to our project. Additional research projects take place in each of two distinct Mi’kmaw communities, Membertou First Nation and Eskasoni First Nation, led by Indigenous partners on our team. An additional dataset will be analyzed using Canadian Housing Survey results published by Statistics Canada.

Central Region (Ottawa, Ontario)

A significant population of youth experience homelessness in this city. Using a participatory, community-based, peer-to-peer model, this study trains youth co-researchers and research assistants with lived experience to collect data by interviewing their peers, using our shared interview guide, and with support and advisory from our experts. The team will conduct a longitudinal, mixed methods study on the outcomes and experiences of 80 to 100 young people (ages 16 to 29) living in different types of affordable housing in this city. Participant recruitment and data collection is supported by community partner organizations in Ottawa who are youth-serving. This project has a specific focus on autonomous youth who have left homelessness or are transitioning out of precarious housing situations. This project includes transitional housing as it is a common form of short-term housing for youth leaving homelessness, lasting up to two years. It also includes a social housing project specifically geared towards LGBTQ2S+ youth.

Prairie Region (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan)

Saskatoon features unique provincial and municipal programs to provide affordable rental housing for those in greatest need, and the city has a high prevalence of Indigenous people experiencing homelessness. Projects conducted in this region are community-led, guided by advisory from Indigenous and lived expert community members, and focus on community needs. One project in particular assesses tenant outcomes and experiences among those living in affordable units provided through Saskatchewan Housing Corporation’s Rental Development Program. Specifically, that project will compare the experiences and outcomes of tenants living in subsidized, non-profit housing versus market rentals. We will also examine how rental providers respond to the needs of urban Indigenous tenants. Additional projects will involve taking a housing systems analysis approach to examine how well and under what circumstances rental housing providers work together and with other social service providers, when housing those in greatest need.