Public housing in Canada is a federal, provincial, or local program designed to provide subsidized assistance for low- to moderate-income people. Increasingly provided in a variety of settings, public housing used to be one or more blocks of low-rise and/or high-rise housing operated by a government agency.
Contents
History
In 1938, the National Housing Act was passed into Federal law. In 1946, the Social Safety Net legislation was enacted. In 1948, Ontario passed the Ontario Housing Development Act. In the 1950s, the Local Housing Authorities were established, starting out as single-family dwellings. In 1964, the National Housing Act was revised and the Ontario Housing Corporation was founded to enable Ontario to manage its own public housing. The OHC was established under the Ontario Housing Corporation Act, funded by rental income and provincial and federal subsidies. During the 1970s, in Ontario, a great deal of money was invested into constructing large apartment buildings and duplexes. The 1980s were marked by the federal government promoting non-profit and co-op housing through the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. In 1998 Consolidated Municipal Service Managers took on the financial costs of social housing. The year 2000 was marked by the dissolution of the Ontario Housing Corporation and the introduction of the Social Housing Reform Act of Ontario.
Ontario
In the year 2000, Ontario passed the Social Housing Reform Act to govern the management of provincially funded public housing. This legislation was part of the transfer of the housing portfolio from provincial to municipal government management.