Ontario Housing Corporation

Public housing policies in Canada includes rent controls, as well as subsidized interest rates and grants. Early public housing policy in Canada consisted of public-private lending schemes which focused on expanding home ownership among the middle class. The first major housing initiative in Canada was the Dominion Housing Act of 1935, which increased the amount of credit available for mortgage loans.

High incidences of drug use, violence, and theft have been reported within many public housing communities in Canada. Low levels of academic achievement and high levels of teenage pregnancy have also been reported among the youth population of Canadian public housing units.

The Dominion Housing Act was the first major housing initiative in Canada. It was implemented in 1935 under Prime Minister Bennett for the purpose of responding to the housing shortage caused by the Great Depression. The government allocated $10 million to assist the DHA in providing mortgage assistance, as well as commissioning a study of housing needs in Canada. The act was administered through joint agreements between the Department of Finance and private lending institutions. The government provided borrowers with loans amounting to 20% of the value of their homes, in addition to the 60% which had traditionally been supplied by loaning institutions. The government also split the burden of defaults evenly with lending institutions, thereby enabling them to increase amortization periods and provide below-market interest rates. The Special Committee, which was commissioned to study Canadian housing, recommended that an independent agency be established for the purpose of administering the Act; however, the government didn't take any action to this effect. The DHA was abandoned in 1938, at which time it was replaced by the National Housing Act. Prior to its termination, the program supplied loans for the construction of 4903 homes.

Critics of the DHA argue that its market-orientation excluded low-income and rural citizens from participation. It is speculated that many of those who received DHA loans would have purchased homes regardless. In order to qualify for a loan, prospective homeowners had to ensure that the residence in question met building standards. Critics state that financial burden imposed through this requirement barred low income families from accessing the program (Belec, 1997). Critics also point to the geographic concentration of the program, stating that financiers avoided less-fruitful rural neighborhoods. Belec (1997) found that 50% of DHA loans were concentrated within Vancouver, Halifax, Montreal, Mount Royal, Ottawa, North York, Toronto, Brantford, and Kitchener.

The Home Improvement Act of 1937 operated in tandem with the DHA. The program provided recipients with subsidized loans for home improvement.

In 1938 Prime Minister Mackenzie King implemented the National Housing Act as a replacement to the Dominion Housing Act. The NHA authorized the federal government to make loans to limited dividend and local housing authorities, which could amount to a maximum of 80 and 90% of their construction costs, respectively. In exchange for this funding, local housing authorities had to fix rents so that they did not exceed 20% of the occupants' aggregate income; however, the NHA also stipulated that landlords could not incur a deficit through a rental agreement. The NHA enabled the government to make joint loans with approved lending institutions, so long as those loans equated to 70-80% of the construction costs of the project. Loan agreements stipulated the portion of debt that each party would incur if the borrower defaulted on his or her loan. A 1944 amendment revoked the right of the Minister of Finance to grant loans to local housing authorities. Clark, who was responsible for drafting the NHA, felt that the competition posed by public housing authorities deterred private investment.

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