Local Implications of a National Housing Strategy: The Case of Toronto

Canada is facing a distinctly urban housing crisis. After decades of relative disengagement, federal and provincial governments are now working to manage the housing crisis. The 2017 National Housing Strategy (NHS) represents a potentially substantive shift not only in the degree of governmental engagement in housing development and affordability, but also in the role of municipalities and communities.

This presentation by Graduate Fellow, James Ankers, examined the implications for Toronto of recent national re-engagement in housing policy. It analyzed major elements of the National Housing Strategy, assessing how it differs from previous housing policy efforts, and explored the new policy tools and approaches the federal government is using to engage local partners in the development and management of new housing stock. He discussed the implications of this new approach for managing the country’s worsening urban housing crisis and for empowering municipalities and local communities in the process.

Speaker

James Ankers is the recipient of the Blanche and Sandy Van Ginkel Graduate Fellowship in Municipal Finance and Governance. He is a PhD student at the University of Toronto in the Department of Political Science. Prior to his PhD studies, James completed an MA in Political Science at the University of Toronto. His research focusses on the politics and the governance of the local welfare state: how governance arrangements, local politics, federal and provincial policy implementation, and place in the city shapes the welfare state experience.

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