CMHC Announces Housing Research Award Winners

Ottawa, ON, February 22, 2024

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) today announced the recipients of the sixth annual Housing Research Awards which recognize research excellence and provide funding to support work that will generate the data and insights needed to advance the goals of Canada’s National Housing Strategy (NHS).

The Housing Research Awards recognize Canadian housing research, research training, knowledge mobilization and outreach activities that are impactful and innovative and help to build and sustain Canada’s culture of research-based housing knowledge across key fields, including the social sciences and humanities, health, and technology. CMHC administers this program on behalf of the Government of Canada.

A panel of experts reviewed the applications following a rigorous set of criteria to identify projects with the greatest potential to produce the data and insights needed by decision-makers to improve housing affordability and better address the housing needs of Canadians. CMHC acting President and CEO Michel Tremblay will present the awards at a ceremony during the National Housing Conference March 18-19 in Ottawa.

Quotes:

"Research is crucial to identifying and resolving housing challenges for all stakeholders in the industry, including innovators, builders and all levels of government. We can’t expect the same approach to suddenly start yielding better results. Thank you to all of those who submitted their work for the 2023 Housing Research Awards, and congratulations to our winners. Your work is increasing the understanding of what is needed, and it’s helping find new ways to make it happen. This excellent, strategic research is truly moving this country forward, toward a better housing future."
— Michel Tremblay, CMHC acting President and CEO

Awards:

CMHC President's Medal for Outstanding Housing Research ($25,000)
This is the highest Housing Research Awards honour, recognizing a significant research contribution that helps us achieve our aspiration to make housing affordable for everyone in Canada. The medal is presented to a team or an individual who has researched one of the NHS priority areas, also designated a priority by CMHC's President. The priority for 2023 was: Challenges and Solutions to Housing Supply Gaps in Canada. We recognize that one of the biggest barriers to affordability in our country is our severe housing shortage and to fix this shortage, we need innovative, evidence-based approaches.

Recipient: University of Toronto for its project entitled Rehousing the Yellowbelt: Rezoning Single-Family Homes as Multiplex Housing. The project tackles an aspect of municipal zoning that has a major impact on the density possible in our cities. Michael Piper, Assistant Professor of urban design and architecture and Director of the university's Master of Urban Design program will accept the award on behalf of his research team.

Gold Roof Award for Housing Research Excellence ($12,500)
This award recognizes research that improves our understanding in one of the priority areas of the NHS and leads to impacts within the academic or housing sector.

Recipient: University of British Columbia for its Housing Assessment Resource Tools (HART) Project, a housing needs assessment tool, a land assessment tool, and a property acquisitions tool. Associate Professor Alexandra Flynn of the university's Peter A. Allard School of Law will accept the award on behalf of her research team.

Gold Roof Award for Knowledge to Action ($12,500)
This award recognizes projects that link excellent research to real actions that are making a difference in the housing sector.

Recipient: the BC Society of Transition Houses, based in Vancouver, for its project on the Practical Applications of a Women-Centred Approach to Housing Design. The project sought new and improved ways to meet the housing needs of women and their children who have experienced violence. Project Coordinator Ghazaleh Akbarnejad will accept the award on behalf of her research team.

Additional Information:

The application portal for the 2024 Housing Research Awards will open later this year. Researchers can apply for funding that recognizes innovative and impactful research, training knowledge mobilization and outreach relevant to housing in Canada. Visit our web site for more information on the Housing Research Awards.

CMHC delivers programs under the National Housing Strategy (NHS), Canada's 10-year $82+ billion plan to give more Canadians a place to call home. The NHS covers the entire housing continuum, from shelters and transitional housing to community and affordable housing, to market rental and homeownership. We report progress on the achievement of NHS targets quarterly online.

CMHC contributes to the stability of the housing market and financial system, provides support for Canadians in housing need, and offers objective housing research and information to all levels of governments, consumers and the housing industry.