🏠 Un-Habitat and CMHC Launch Partnership to Advance Housing Solutions in Canada and Beyond

Friday, 29 May 2026 06:33.PM

The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) and Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) have launched a multi-year research collaboration aimed at generating evidence and insights on housing supply and affordability. This partnership brings together complementary strengths to help deliver high-impact and globally informed housing research solutions tailored to Canada.

Canada's housing challenges are complex, and no single solution will address them. By combining UN-Habitat's global experience in examining housing issues and providing technical assistance on national housing policies to UN Member States with CMHC's expertise on Canada's housing system, the partnership will produce credible and practical research to better understand affordable housing supply issues in Canada.

The research is organized around five core themes: municipal finance, market models to expand affordable housing, Indigenous-led supply models, investor roles and safeguards from unintended consequences of housing speculation, and integrating climate resilience in housing.

Insights from this partnership will enable both partners to exchange expertise and draw on global and national experience to inform evidence and analyses related to housing in Canada. At the same time, the project's outputs will contribute to global dialogue on adequate housing, advancing knowledge and policy exchange through UN-Habitat's work and informing international agendas, including the Sustainable Development Goals and the New Urban Agenda.

"At a time when housing systems are under increasing pressure globally, the need for actionable, research has never been greater," said Anacláudia Rossbach, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN-Habitat. "This collaboration with CMHC demonstrates how global knowledge and national expertise can come together to inform transformative housing insights that advance the right to adequate housing. UN-Habitat is proud to support the generation of globally informed research that can strengthen Canada's housing system and contribute to shaping international housing agendas."

"CMHC is committed to working with partners in Canada and around the world to learn from international experience and help inform decisions across the housing system," said Coleen Volk, CEO and President of CMHC. "This project will establish a lasting knowledge legacy that provides the evidence needed for continuous innovation and sustainable urban development. By learning from international housing experiences, both the successes and the failures, we can build a more resilient housing system for all Canadians."

SOURCE: Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC)

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