Addressing the Affordable
Housing Crisis
Vi Oko
In the previous articles in this series the extent of the need for more
affordable housing was established and the underlying causes for the
growing shortage of low-cost rental units were identified.
Countless studies and reports emphasizing
the urgency of the demand for more affordable
housing units have been submitted to all levels of
government in the last few years. Even though the
various branches of government tend to support
the concept of increased availability of low-cost
housing, little development has occurred to address
the insufficiency.
According to a news release by Kendra Slugoski
on Global News in 2016, the waitlist for subsidized
housing in Edmonton had more than tripled from
approximately 1,200 in the fall of 2014 to more than
4,300 in the spring of 2016, with close to 200 more
applications per month.
24 | arta.net
Edmonton’s mayor, Don Iveson, has stated that
a new supply of social housing has not kept up
with population growth over the past twenty years,
creating a backlog. There is a desperate need to
reinvest in existing units and add new inventory.
Calgary is experiencing a similar housing deficit as
well. Cities require support from both the provincial
and federal governments because the most
vulnerable people tend to concentrate in big cities.
Following the release of the National Housing
Strategy in November 2016, the Federal
Government proposed that nearly $20 billion
be invested in affordable housing over the next
ten years, increased the new residential rental