What experts say Nova Scotia can do to preserve our stock of affordable rental housing
CBC News, Nova Scotia (March 13, 2025)
In The Media
N.S. rapidly losing some of its most affordable apartments, while cost soars for new ones
CBC News Nova Scotia (March 3, 2025)
Calgary non-market housing struggles to meet the need
Globe and Mail, Calgary (December 5, 2024)
Killam reports ‘largest rental gains’ on new leases in company’s history in most recent update
CBC News, Nova Scotia (November 25, 2024)
‘Urgent action’ needed with almost 900 homeless, Cape Breton conference hears
PNI Atlantic News (November 8, 2024)
Number of people homeless or at risk up substantially in parts of eastern Nova Scotia
National Indigenous Homelessness Council (November 7, 2024)
Number of people homeless or at risk up substantially in parts of eastern Nova Scotia
CBC News, Nova Scotia (November 7, 2024)
Study finds 72 per cent increase in homelessness in Cape Breton, Antigonish, Guysbourough
PNI Atlantic News (November 6, 2024)
We regulate childcare and LTC, why not housing?
Fixing Up Housing Policy: From Research to Reality (July 3, 2024) — Catherine Leviten-Reid talks with Jim Dunn and Cynthia Belaskie of the Canada Housing Evidence Collaborative (CHEC) about housing policy in Canada and the work of our partnership grant.
Where can you afford to rent?
CBC News (June 11, 2024) — Use this interactive article to explore which cities in Canada you could afford rent.
Large Halifax landlords report double-digit operating income growth in first quarter of 2024
CBC News Nova Scotia (May 15, 2024) — As of March 31, 2024, Killam Apartment REIT owned 5,731 residential units in Halifax. Killam and CAPREIT say higher rents, lower utility costs contributed to income growth.
Need for affordable homes in Cape Breton outstrips new federal funding, says prof
CBC News Nova Scotia (Feb 27, 2024)
Affordable housing expert calls for ‘massive investment’ in public housing in CBRM
CBC News, Nova Scotia (December 8th, 2023) — According to a Nova Scotia housing needs assessment, Cape Breton Regional Municipality is short 1,000 units right now. Cape Breton University professor and housing expert Catherine Leviten-Reid says the provincial report clearly identifies the need for a massive investment in public housing in CBRM.
Investment in public housing isn’t enough to meet demand in Cape Breton, says researcher
CBC News Nova Scotia (October 12, 2023)
Logement: une crise sans précédent dans les Maritimes
Acadie Nouvelle – Réseau.Presse (24 septembre 2023)
Des voix s’élèvent pour étendre la chasse aux logements insalubres en Nouvelle-Écosse
ICI Nouvelle-Écosse (26 juin, 2023) — Selon Statistique Canada, la Nouvelle-Écosse connaît un des plus forts taux de logements nécessitant des réparations au pays. Avec son futur registre des propriétaires, la Municipalité régionale d’Halifax sera plus exigeante sur la qualité des logements offerts sur son marché locatif que d’autres régions de la Nouvelle-Écosse. Des voix s’élèvent pour que des exigences similaires soient mises en place dans l’ensemble de la province. Catherine Leviten-Reid pense aussi qu’un registre provincial des propriétaires permettrait de lutter contre la crise du logement.
THINKING OUT LOUD: Rent supplements don’t always add up to affordable housing
Saltwire (June 29, 2023) — Read and listen to Catherine Leviten-Reid delve into why the current rent supplement program in Nova Scotia is not working for tenants, and why change needs to happen.
Audio Interview: Rent supplement program needs to improve, CCPA says
CBC LISTEN, Mainstreet Nova Scotia (June 26, 2023) — The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives wants to see improvements to the federal-provincial rent supplement program to address Nova Scotia’s lack of affordable housing. Catherine Leviten-Reid, a research associate at the centre, talks about proposed policy changes.
CCPA report: Nova Scotia rent supplements should consider actual cost of rent, utilities
The Halifax Examiner (June 27th, 2023) — Catherine Leviten-Reid talks about the new Canada-Nova Scotia Targeted Housing Benefit rent subsidy and makes recommendations for policy changes.
U of S prof helps Square One organize Point-in-Time homelessness count
MooseJaw Today (June 11, 2023)
N.S. funded 954 new affordable rental units in last 5 years. Experts say this is far from enough
CBC News Nova Scotia (May 23, 2023) — Catherine Leviten-Reid talks about the urgent need for new housing builds in Nova Scotia. Leviten-Reid is a part of a recent study that found Nova Scotia needs to build or acquire over 30,000 units of deeply affordable, non-market housing in the next 10 years in order to accommodate housing demands.
Carleton researchers awarded $4.8 million grant for assessing long-term outcomes of Canada’s National Housing Strategy
CMHC, Ottawa (April 20, 2023) — New project entitled A Safe and Affordable Place to Call Home: A Multi-disciplinary Longitudinal Outcomes Analysis of the National Housing Strategy is announced. This project will be co-directed by two Carleton researchers: Jacqueline Kennelly from the Sociology and Anthropology Department and William O’Brien of the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department.
Rapid Housing Initiative funds go to community partners New Dawn and Ally Centre
CBC News, Nova Scotia (April 5th, 2023) — New Dawn Enterprises and Ally Centre of Cape Breton, community partner organizations of our project grant, are awarded a $5 million Rapid Housing Initiative (RHI) fund within the fund’s city stream. The proposed project is now set to be built by early 2024 on New Dawn’s campus in the North End of Sydney, Cape Breton, NS.
Family of four struggling to find long-term rental in Cape Breton since December
CBC News Nova Scotia (March 9th, 2023) — Catherine Leviten-Reid comments on the low vacancy rate in Cape Breton and its impacts on housing accessibility, in a community where short-term rentals are impacting the available housing stock.
More than 6,500 N.S. households are waiting for public housing. Why are so many units still empty?
CBC News Nova Scotia (December 6th 2022) — Discussing the high demand for public housing in Nova Scotia, the long wait times for housing placements, and the public housing units that are currently sitting vacant despite it all. Nova Scotians are struggling while they sit on public housing wait lists for an average of 2 years.
Women and Gender Diverse People are Disproportionately Affected by the Housing Crisis. Are We Doing Enough?
Halifax Examiner (Jun. 23, 2022) — A 25-unit affordable housing complex in Lakeside, NS called The Sunflower that will provide housing for women, families, and gender-expansive people is almost complete. But women and gender-diverse people, who are vulnerable in a housing crisis, need more to keep them from facing homelessness and housing insecurity.
Low Income Renters Face Long Waits for Public Housing. What Happens to Those Who Can’t Wait?
CBC News (Jun. 15, 2022) — This story is part of a series from CBC Cape Breton called The High Cost of Getting By. In the series, reporters examine how the rising cost of daily living is affecting people on the island. For the last several months, reporters from our newsroom spoke with people who are struggling because of the high costs of basic necessities like housing, food and home repairs.
The High Cost of Getting By: The Challenge of Finding a Safe Place to Live
Information Morning – Cape Breton with Steve Sutherland (Jun. 15, 2022) — Our Cape Breton Current Affairs Correspondent Brittany Wentzell takes a look at housing in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality and why it’s so hard for low income people to get a decent place to live.
‘A Perfect Storm’: Saskatoon Agencies Critical of Income Assistance Reform
CTV News Saskatoon (Sep. 15, 2021) — Rent arrears are piling up. Homelessness is rising. And affordable housing agencies in Saskatoon are grappling with evictions from people on social assistance. “It’s becoming a perfect storm quite honestly,” said Quint Development Corporation executive director Len Usisken. One factor is a change to income assistance programs through the Ministry of Social Services, he said.
Landlords prevail in eviction cases (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan)
StarPhoenix (August 5th, 2021) — Co-Applicant Sarah Buhler at the University of Saskatchewan looked at 1,850 tenant hearings with the Saskatchewan Office of Residential Tenancies. During the first 9 months of the covid-19 pandemic, landlords won 9 out of every 10 cases. Read more here.
Landlords Triumphed in Eviction Hearings During Pandemic: Study
Regina Leader-Post (Aug. 4, 2021) — Landlords won nine of every 10 eviction hearings during the first nine months of the pandemic, according to a study that found officers rarely seemed to pay much attention to tenant hardships or COVID-19. The study, published this week by University of Saskatchewan law professor Sarah Buhler , looked at 1,850 eviction hearing decisions issued by the Office of Residential Tenancies (ORT) during 2020.
Carleton Research Aims to Identify Public Housing Types Best Suited for Youth
Carleton Newsroom (Nov. 23, 2020) — The Ottawa regional project is one part of a Canada-wide initiative called People, Places, Policies and Prospects: Affordable Rental Housing for Those in Greatest Need. It’s being funded through a housing partnership grant from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s National Housing Strategy, and Ottawa is one of four cities being studied.
Carleton Professor Researches Impacts of Affordable Housing on Homeless Youth
Ottawa Morning with Robyn Bresnahan (Aug. 17, 2020) — A new nationwide research project is looking at affordable housing across the country. Jacqueline Kennelly, a sociology professor at Carleton University is leading the research in Ontario, with a focus on youth homelessness in Ottawa with the help of four formerly homeless youth, including Holly Petersen.
Q&A: U of S Researchers Put Saskatoon’s Housing Under the Microscope
Saskatoon StarPhoenix (Jul. 29, 2020) — University of Saskatchewan professor emerita Isobel Findlay is one of three researchers in the city collaborating on a nation-wide study on affordable housing, and why vulnerable people continue to fall through the cracks. Professor emerita Isobel Findlay is trying to answer tough questions about Saskatoon’s housing market.
Saskatoon’s Housing Market to be Probed as U of S Researchers Join Canada-wide Study
CBC News (Jul. 29, 2020) — The City of Saskatoon’s affordable housing situation will be examined in a Canada-wide research project, including a University of Saskatchewan research team partnering with researchers across the country, to look at just how affordable housing programs affect vulnerable people and their families.
CBU Receives Major Funding to Lead National Research Initiative on Affordable Housing
NationTalk (Jul. 28, 2020) — Cape Breton University (CBU) will lead a national research initiative on the importance of affordable rental housing for those in greatest need, with significant investments from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) and the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).
‘We’re Still in Crisis’: USask Researchers to Unpack Affordable Housing Efficacy
Global News (Jul. 28, 2020) — Nine Saskatoon organizations are working with the University of Saskatchewan to determine which types of affordable housing programs yield the best results for various communities. Researchers in the prairies and Atlantic and central Canada will explore the effects of affordable rental housing on tenants, taking age, gender, race and sexuality into consideration.
Professor Jacqueline Kennelly is Co-Investigator on Recently Funded Partnership Grant Examining Experiences of Residents Across Canada Who Live In Affordable Housing
Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Carleton University (Jul. 27, 2020)
USask Researchers Partner on $1.3-million Study on Affordable Housing
USASK Research Profile and Impact (Jul. 27, 2020) — A University of Saskatchewan (USask) research team has partnered with researchers across Canada to study how different types of affordable rental housing impact the lives of marginalized people and families.
Cape Breton University to Lead National Research Initiative on Affordable Housing
The Chronicle Herald (Jul. 27, 2020) — Cape Breton University will lead a five-year, $1.3-million national research initiative on the importance of affordable rental housing for those in greatest need.