A message from the City of Edmonton:
The Housing Forward: 2026 Prairies Affordable Housing Summit will bring housing leaders from across Western Canada to the Edmonton Convention Centre from May 11 to 14 for four days focused on practical solutions to the affordable and non-market housing challenge.
Hosted by the City of Edmonton, the summit is designed for the people and organizations working to get housing built, funded, operated, and sustained. The summit comes at a consequential moment for Edmonton and the Prairie region. While Edmonton has increased its affordable housing by more than 40% since 2019, it still has Canada's third highest rate of core housing need. According to the City's affordable housing needs assessment, roughly one in four renters pays more than they can afford, lives in substandard or crowded housing, and can't afford to move. The need is significant, but so is the opportunity to learn from communities, organizations, and projects that are already finding ways forward.
Housing Forward is structured around applied knowledge, with sessions organized into four program streams: planning, permitting, and construction; funding, partnerships, and solutions; organizational health, operations, and governance; and housing, health, and homelessness. Sessions include topics such as unlocking land for housing, partnership structures that deliver non-market housing, supportive housing models, financing tools, cost-efficient delivery, and leadership in affordable housing organizations.
Dr. Carolyn Whitzman, an urban planner and adjunct professor at the University of Ottawa and the University of Toronto School of Cities, will deliver a keynote to kick things off on May 12. Andrea Nemtin, CEO of Social Innovation Canada, and Katie Maslechko, CEO of Rental Protection Fund, will deliver keynotes on May 13.
Don Iveson, board chair of CMHC and founder of Civic Good, will join David Miller of C40 Cities and Elbows Up for Climate for a fireside chat on housing, climate resilience, and what it takes to build cities that work for everyone. The former big-city mayors will draw on their combined decades of municipal leadership and their ongoing work in national housing and climate policy to offer candid reflection and a forward-looking perspective on the road ahead.
The summit also includes opportunities to see local housing innovation firsthand. Optional site tours on May 14 will take delegates to Edmonton projects including McArthur Place, Parkside North, Grace Village, Richfield I and II, and ACQBuilt, showing different models of supportive housing, accessible townhomes, community housing renewal, sustainable design, and off-site construction. Transportation is provided, and pre-registration is required.
Registration is now open. The $325 registration fee includes the Monday evening opening reception, both main summit days, keynotes, panel discussions, breakout sessions, the Prairies Housing Innovation Showcase, networking breaks, lunch, and the optional Thursday site tours.
For anyone working to advance affordable housing in the Prairies, Housing Forward offers a chance to connect with peers, learn from working models, and leave with ideas that can be put into practice.