Housing Needs Assessments

Overview

Housing Needs Assessments (HNAs) provide data to support evidence-based decision making at the local and community level. Having this data helps all levels of government make informed decisions about their infrastructure and housing investments in order to build the most suitable housing for their communities. An assessment helps a community gather critical housing data to guide decisions on the type and location of housing to build, as well as the infrastructure needed to support community growth.

The federal government is taking an integrated approach to housing and infrastructure. Communities with a population of 30,000 or greater will need to complete an HNA to be eligible for federal funding under infrastructure programs. Communities of all sizes with agreements to receive funding through the Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF) will need to complete an HNA.

What is a Housing Needs Assessment?

An HNA is a report informed by data and research that describes the current and future housing needs of a municipality or community. It includes both:

Quantitative research such as economic data, population and household forecasts; and,
Qualitative research such as interviews, policy analysis and stakeholder engagement.

Benefits of a standardized federal Housing Needs Assessment

The federal government has developed a standard HNA template. The federal approach has been inspired by what provinces and municipalities are already doing with respect to HNAs and included consultation with provinces, territories and other stakeholders, including housing experts and academics. A federal standard for HNAs has many benefits, including:

Providing the necessary evidence to inform local housing policies, investments and planning practices, grounded in the current and projected needs of a community;
Fostering the widespread development and adoption of a recognized best practice;
Ensuring an evidence-based, equity-focused and long-term planning approach to determining the housing needs of Canadians;
Encouraging integrated, systems thinking by linking HNAs to federal infrastructure programs and planning for future population growth;
Allowing for comparability across jurisdictions and facilitating roll-up of data to ensure an informed, evidence-based, long-term planning story at the municipal, regional and ultimately national level;
Supporting local governments in fulfilling the HNA requirement for federal infrastructure funding; and,
Ensuring local governments have a tool that they can leverage for their own evidence-based long-term planning needs.

Municipality spotlight

Municipalities across the country are completing HNAs to better understand their housing needs and plan for the future. Explore stories from municipalities who have completed their HNAs and see how they are turning data-driven insights into action.

Lethbridge, Alberta

Lethbridge steps up: A community-driven approach to housing solutions

Bâtiment de briques rouges avec une rampe d'accès, entouré de pelouses et d'arbres aux couleurs de l'automne sous un ciel bleu.

Lethbridge, a dynamic and growing city in southern Alberta, is advancing efforts to address housing affordability and meet the diverse needs of its residents. With support from the Government of Canada and a strong commitment to evidence-based planning, Lethbridge is transforming housing challenges into opportunities for inclusive growth.

In 2024, Lethbridge completed a comprehensive HNA – a detailed report that outlines the community's current and future housing needs. The findings revealed a clear challenge: affordability pressures are growing, especially for renters and vulnerable populations. Nearly one in ten households are in core housing need, and vacancy rates have dropped to just 0.6 percent, making it harder than ever to find a place to live.

Medicine Hat, Alberta

Medicine Hat builds forward: A community united by housing solutions

Aerial view of a city with a bridge over a river and trees with autumn colors.

Medicine Hat, Alberta is making strategic and collaborative moves to tackle housing challenges and build a more inclusive community. Backed by federal investment and a clear picture of local needs, Medicine Hat is translating insights from its HNA into action that delivers results for residents.

Medicine Hat's HNA revealed both progress and pressure points. While the City has a relatively well-maintained housing stock, affordability remains a challenge - especially for renters, seniors, newcomers, and single-parent households. Nearly 20 percent of households are in housing that is unsuitable, inadequate and unaffordable. Vacancy rates have also dropped to historic lows, with rents rising by 27 percent between 2021 and 2024.

Innisfil, Ontario

Innisfil's journey toward building a stronger, more inclusive community

Innisfil written on a stone sign in front of shrubs.

Innisfil Ontario has taken a significant step toward addressing housing challenges by completing a HNA using the federal template – a detailed data-driven report that describes the current and future housing needs of a municipality.

The HNA has provided valuable insights into the community's housing challenges and opportunities. It highlights key needs, particularly among seniors, Indigenous residents, single-parent households, and individuals fleeing domestic violence.

Orillia, Ontario

Orillia and the Government of Canada working together to create housing solutions

Aerial view of a marina next to a waterfront town and a rainbow.

The City of Orillia, a growing and vibrant community in central Ontario, is taking decisive steps to address housing affordability and meet the needs of its residents. With the support of the Government of Canada and guided by local data, Orillia is turning its housing challenges into opportunities for inclusive growth.

In 2024, using the federal template, Orillia completed a HNA – a detailed data-driven report that describes the housing needs of a municipality or community. The results painted a clear picture: housing affordability is a critical concern for Orillia residents. Nearly 44 percent of renter households in the city spend over 30 percent of their income on housing costs, placing many in housing that is unaffordable, unsuitable or inadequate.

Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island

Charlottetown’s housing vision: A partnership for progress

Sunset view of a waterfront, with trees buildings and church towers under a partly cloudy sky.

The City of Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island's growing and dynamic capital, is taking bold steps to address housing affordability and plan for the future. With support from the Government of Canada and informed by local data and community input, the City is transforming housing challenges into opportunities for inclusive and sustainable growth.

Charlottetown has completed its Housing Needs Assessment using the federal template, offering a clear and comprehensive view of the City's housing landscape. The assessment highlights key challenges: 33.2 percent of tenant households spend more than 30 percent of their income on housing costs, and 13.9 percent of tenant households are in core housing need. These realities illustrate the scale of the problem and the importance of targeted planning tools.

St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador

St. John’s housing future: Building partnerships for inclusive growth

City of St. John’s, Newfoundland skyline at sunset, viewed across the harbour, with waterfront buildings and the Basilica of St. John the Baptist above hillside homes.

St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, is embracing a bold vision to tackle housing challenges and create opportunities for all residents. With support from the Government of Canada and informed by local data and community voices, the city is transforming mounting pressures into a roadmap for sustainable and inclusive growth.

The City of St. John’s completed its Housing Needs Assessment in 2023, confirming affordability is a critical issue. Nearly one-third of renters spend more than 30% of their income on housing, and over one in five homes are inadequate, unaffordable, or unsuitable. More than 2,000 households face serious housing affordability challenges. The median renter income supports are about $840 per month, while median rent is $930. An estimated 22.3% of tenant households are in core housing need, homeownership is increasingly out of reach, and renters struggle to afford benchmark prices of $307,600 for single-family homes or townhouses. Together, these findings illustrate the growing gap between incomes and housing costs in the city.

Housing Accelerator Fund - Round 2

For those that need to complete or update their housing needs assessment for the Housing Accelerator Fund, resources are available on the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) website. Municipalities with populations of 30,000 or greater who are completing a new housing needs assessment must use the federal template published on the Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada's website.

Download the federal Housing Needs Assessment template

The following links allow you to download a blank Microsoft Word or HTML version of the federal HNA template for reference:

The following links allow you to download a blank Microsoft Word or HTML version of the Territorial HNA template for reference:

The following links allow you to download a blank Microsoft Word or HTML version of the HNA template for populations under 30,000 for reference:

These documents are provided as templates for your use. They may not fully meet all accessibility standards. If you require these documents in an alternative format, please contact us.

Request a prepopulated Housing Needs Assessment template

HNAs are a core component of the delivery of federal housing and infrastructure programming, including the Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF), the Canada Public Transit Fund (CPTF), and the Canada Community-Building Fund (CCBF). Completing an HNA is required for all communities with HAF agreements, and for communities with a population of 30,000 or greater to fulfill their commitments under the CPTF and CCBF.

Communities with a population of under 30,000 may also complete HNAs and use them to support their infrastructure funding applications. To better assist these communities, HICC has developed a specialized HNA template tailored to their needs.

To reduce the administrative burden on communities, a prepopulated HNA template is available for all communities with a population of at least 1,000. It includes pre-filled public data, such as Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation data and Statistics Canada data. Communities must input the remainder of the information within the template.

It is important that municipalities email hna.secretariat-secretariat.ebml@infc.gc.ca to request their pre-populated HNA template, in either official language, in order to complete their assessment for the purposes of fulfilling program requirements.

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Date modified:: 2026-03-04

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