Webinar Series 2022: Low-Cost Housing in Canada: Past, Present and Future

With Sarah Cooper, Ph.D. University of Manitoba

Sunday, March 27, 2022 3 pm EST

Housing is foundational for both individuals and communities. In the past, Canada’s social housing system was recognized around the world as a model for low-cost housing provision. But what happened? In this presentation, Sarah Cooper will review the history and present state of low-cost subsidized housing in Canada, from the public housing heyday of the 1960s to the present National Housing Strategy. She will also offer some potential directions for the future of low-cost housing.

Sarah Cooper is an Assistant Professor in the Department of City Planning in the Faculty of Architecture, University of Manitoba. Her research focuses on housing and social policy, with an emphasis on ensuring access to housing for all. Her current research examines housing for low-income households in Canada, with a focus on the expiry of social housing funding agreements—an issue that will transform the landscape of housing and housing policy in Canada over the next few decades. She approaches her research from a social justice perspective, and draws on neoliberal urbanism, settler colonial theory and critical housing theory to inform her work.

Prior to completing her PhD at the University of Illinois at Chicago, Sarah worked as a Research Associate and Planner at the Centre for Indigenous Environmental Resources in Winnipeg, and as a researcher at the Manitoba office of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. She has worked on a wide variety of research and planning projects, including neighbourhood housing plans, watershed and community plans, and housing and social policy analysis. Sarah is a Registered Professional Planner (RPP) and Member of the Canadian Institute of Planners (MCIP).