The Board of Collingwood Non Profit Housing (CNPH) has been working for more than 35 years to provide a healthy, safe and affordable home for hundreds of individuals, couples and families in the Town of Collingwood. During that time, working with the town, the community and Simcoe County, we have been dedicated to learning more about the housing crisis in Ontario.

Many Collingwood residents have been struggling to find rental housing (particularly during COVID when the demand and household costs skyrocketed) and therefore many residents have been moving away or moving to temporary living situations that make it difficult to find employment and manage their health. The Town of Collingwood formed the Affordable Housing Task Force in 2022. They undertook a comprehensive study of housing which stated that 1,300 rental units are required to meet current needs.

The housing crisis has become more critical in recent years. Many residents who work in our community, in organizations and businesses as service and administrative employees, cannot afford to live in town. Families with children and youth cannot manage to live in their current homes, and rentals are few and far between with escalating rental rates. 

CNPH knows with our expertise, long history of successful tenant housing and passion, we are well placed to replicate the work we have done, develop solutions and create new affordable housing options.

To realize our ability to develop solutions, we are currently working with Collingwood Housing Initiative (CHI) to explore options and build affordable housing. Jane Truemner and Laurel McCorriston who head up CHI, with the support of the Town of Collingwood’s seed funding, met with us in the winter of 2025. Jane and Laurel come to us with a combined fifty years of experience in affordable housing capital development, housing and property management and fundraising in both Toronto and Nunavut. Together, we are working towards strengthening CNPH and developing affordable housing goals that we can both work toward.

CNPH has been working, with CHI as our advisors, to explore options for new affordable housing opportunities, land/existing buildings, partnerships, government, corporate and foundation support, as well as private developers who have a passion and ability to support new affordable housing.

Together, we are seeking potential projects, partners and funding to continue our successful journey to house people in need. Our goal is to continue housing those who work in our town and earn a modest income. The health of Collingwood and our communities requires us to help our current residents with modest incomes to have safe, affordable housing. We must also work with organizations that help people to find housing – youth shelters and gender-based violence shelters – as both can only do their work if residents can receive support and move to new housing. 

We believe everyone deserves a home.