Southern Ontario's largest public housing providers form GTHA Community Housing Collaborative
The Collaborative will focus on strengthening the sector's capacity, as well as research on the positive impact of public housing preservation and expansion
TORONTO, April 15, 2026 /CNW/ - For the first time, the largest public housing providers in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) are joining forces to support the more than 150,000 residents they serve across their six portfolios.
The GTHA Community Housing Collaborative includes the six largest public housing providers in the GTHA: CityHousing Hamilton, Housing Durham, Halton Community Housing Corporation, Housing York Inc., Peel Housing Corporation and Toronto Community Housing. The Collaborative was formed to align members' efforts on housing renewal, funding for new housing supply and long-term system sustainability, recognizing public housing as essential infrastructure that underpins the region's economic productivity, public health and community stability.
As its first major joint initiative, the Collaborative has engaged the Canadian Centre for Economic Analysis and its ONEMODEL agentic-based simulation technology to undertake the world's first empirically grounded region-wide study of the economic and social value of public housing investment across a portfolio spanning more than 600 communities. Developed over a decade by a consortium of PhDs led by Dr. Paul Smetanin, ONEMODEL integrates more than 300 topics within a single system, enabling the study to reflect the distinct characteristics, circumstances, and wellbeing of individuals as they live their lives, pursue their motivations, and respond to changes in their environments under different public housing investment events. It shows how changes in public housing investment ripple through people, communities, and the broader economy in ways conventional modelling cannot capture.
This research initiative is being led by the Collaborative using data from across their portfolios and is supported by Scotiabank with a community investment from ScotiaRISE. ScotiaRISE is the Bank's $500-million commitment to help strengthen economic resilience among disadvantaged groups. The cooperation between the Collaborative and Scotiabank reflects a shared commitment to advance the case for housing affordability in meaningful ways and help build resilient economies and healthier communities.
The full findings of this study are expected to be published in June 2026.
Quotes
"Through ScotiaRISE, we are proud to support the GTHA Community Housing Collaborative to advance data-driven research and improve outcomes for disadvantaged groups. The results of the Collaborative will provide meaningful insights into the role that innovative financing can play in growing the housing sector and strengthening economic growth and resilience."
Meigan Terry, Executive Vice President & Chief Corporate and Public Affairs Officer, Scotiabank
"Public housing in the GTHA is valuable and productive infrastructure. This Collaborative reflects our shared recognition that the GTHA's economic vitality, community health and social wellbeing are intimately bound to the fate of public housing. If we treat public housing like infrastructure that generates economic prosperity and more resilient communities, we can unlock benefits that ripple into every corner of society. This is a generational opportunity that demands coordinated regional leadership."
Sean Baird, President & CEO, Toronto Community Housing Corporation
"The GTHA Community Housing Collaborative marks an important step forward in how we understand, invest in, and advocate for affordable housing across the GTHA. At CityHousing Hamilton, we see every day how stable, affordable housing supports people's ability to work, stay healthy, and contribute to their communities. By working together and grounding our decisions in rigorous, evidence-based research, we have an opportunity to demonstrate that public housing is not just a social good, but as an essential part of the economy that benefits everyone."
Adam Sweedland, President & CEO, CityHousing Hamilton
"The GTHA Community Housing Collaborative is bringing everyone to the table to make a positive difference in public housing across our communities. This research will help change how public housing investment is understood and evaluated, demonstrating the clear value of public housing to our economy, health and community resilience."
Erin Valant, Director of Housing Services and CEO of Housing Durham,
The Regional Municipality of Durham
"Community infrastructure is essential - we simply can't have complete communities without it. Peel Housing Corporation is proud to join our partners in this Collaborative to help advance research that demonstrates how investing in community housing strengthens economic resilience, and creates lasting social value for residents in our communities."
Jason Hastings, General Manager, Peel Housing Corporation
"Safe, affordable housing is fundamental to strong, inclusive communities, connecting people to opportunity, employment and a sense of belonging. By working collaboratively, we can better align our efforts to deliver housing solutions for everyone, ensuring our communities are healthy and built for everyone to succeed."
Eric Jolliffe, Chairman and CEO, The Regional Municipality of York
and Chief Executive Officer, Housing York Inc.
About the GTHA Community Housing Collaborative
The GTHA Community Housing Collaborative brings together the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area's six largest public housing providers, collectively responsible for the stewardship, renewal and expansion across Toronto, Peel, York, Durham, Halton, and Hamilton. In total, the Collaborative represents approximately 40 per cent of the public housing in Ontario, including more than 81,500 homes. The joint portfolio asset value of the Collaborative exceeds $20 billion, and together the members serve over 150,000 tenants.
SOURCE GTHA Community Housing Collaborative
Media Contact: Robin Smith, Director, Strategic Communications, Toronto Community Housing Corporation, [email protected], 416-508-8537
Share this article