Five million people in Canada didn’t know if they were going to make rent on September 1. Housing affordability and renters’ rights are key election issues—how are federal party promises faring compared to this country’s rental crisis? Hear from leading experts on affordability, evictions, and renter rights. This is the final episode of our special election series on housing and homelessness as voters in Canada head to the polls.

This election is about housing. We are joined by rights and policy experts Garima Talwar Kapoor – Maytree, Justin Marchand – CHRA Indigenous Caucus, and Ricardo Tranjan – Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. They walk us through their analysis of federal party platform commitments on housing and homelessness. This is the fourth episode of our special election series on housing and homelessness as voters in Canada head to the polls.

We’re joined by experts Leilani Farha, Eric Weissman and Zain Velji who talk to us about campaigning during a pandemic, housing and policy issues voters should consider this election. This is the third episode of our special election series on housing and homelessness as voters in Canada head to the polls.

What are some of the key election issues for people experiencing homelessness and housing precarity? What do candidates and federal parties need to get right if they’re going to solve homelessness if elected? Find out this episode and speak to folks with lived expertise. This is the second episode of our special election series on housing and homelessness as voters in Canada head to the polls.

David Le Blanc is the Assistant Director for Stakeholder Mobilization at Elections Canada, where he has been working on reducing barriers to electoral participation for Canadians for many years. He talks to us about how people with no fixed address can vote in election 44. This episode is the first of our special election series on housing and homelessness as voters in Canada head to the polls.

Mike Lethby is the Executive Director of the Niagara Resource Service for Youth (The RAFT) a not-for profit agency in the Niagara region working with youth and their families. He shares why his focus has shifted to preventing homelessness, shelter diversion, and the impacts COVID-19 has had on the sector. Born and raised in Niagara, Mike worked in the local auto sector before graduating Brock University with an honours B.A. in Political Science and History. Mike also holds a master’s degree in Political Science from the University of Western Ontario.

Tom Cooper serves as Director of the Hamilton Roundtable for Poverty Reduction – a collaborative organization formed to tackle the city’s unacceptable levels of poverty. Through the roundtable’s work, Tom has engaged governments at all levels to invest in poverty reduction initiatives and worked to give people experiencing poverty a voice in the decisions that affect their lives. He talks to us about his involvement in helping to establish Ontario’s first basic income pilot.

Powered by The Home Depot Canada Foundation, TradeWorx is a collaboration of 10 successful Canadian employment social enterprises helping bridge systemic gaps and prevent youth homelessness. TradeWorx partners provide youth at-risk of homelessness with the skills training needed to secure a long-term well-paying career in the trades, resulting in the ability to afford/retain housing. Learn more from today’s guests: Emily Rowe, Sheldon Pollett, and Emmy Kelly!

Your vote can end homelessness and housing need. That’s the core sentiment driving the national non-partisan campaign Vote Housing, which is designed to engage and mobilize Canadians to pledge to Vote Housing in the upcoming federal election. The people-powered campaign wants to see solutions to the homelessness and housing crisis on the upcoming ballot. We’re joined by Vote Housing’s Jeff Morrison, Executive Director of the Canadian Housing and Renewal Association, and Alex Nelson, who serves on the steering committees of both the Canadian Lived Experience Leadership Network and the Women’s National Housing and Homelessness Network.

Dr. Andrew Boozary is a passionate and brilliant social advocate who uses medicine to build equity into society. He is a primary care physician and ED of Population Health and Social Medicine at the University Health Network, where he is working to develop, evaluate and scale new models of healthcare delivery for patients with complex health and social needs. During this pandemic, Dr. Boozary also serves as co-lead of the Ontario Health Toronto Region COVID-19 Homelessness Response and is a member of the Canadian Medical Association’s Post-Pandemic Expert Advisory Group. He also leads UHN’s Social Medicine Program, which aims to improve health outcomes and defend human dignity by integrating a person’s social context into their care.