Housing is one of the issues I hear about most often from people in Courtenay.
Families are struggling to find suitable homes. People are concerned about affordability. Seniors want to remain in their community. People experiencing homelessness need somewhere safe to stay. And people working in our community need housing they can actually afford.
The question I am often asked is straightforward:
What is the City going to do about it?
The answer starts with understanding what a municipal government can—and cannot—do.
The City doesn't build all the housing
One of the most important things to understand about housing is that the City of Courtenay does not simply decide how many homes get built and then construct them.
Housing involves multiple levels of government and a wide range of organizations.
The City's role can include:
- Planning and zoning
- Development approvals
- Municipal infrastructure
- Affordable-housing policies and programs
- Partnerships with non-profit housing providers
- Advocacy with provincial and federal governments
- Supporting projects that address local housing needs
But the City is not responsible for funding and constructing every shelter, supportive-housing building or affordable home.
That means solving the housing problem requires collaboration.
Starting with homelessness support
When I was first elected in 2014, one of the areas I focused on was homelessness.
At the Comox Valley Regional District, I worked to establish the Homelessness Support Service, which began in 2015.
The service created a source of revenue that allowed the regional district to support local members of the Coalition to End Homelessness.
The work was informed by regional planning tools, including the Comox Valley Regional Housing Needs Assessment and the Poverty Reduction Plan.
This is an important part of the housing story because addressing homelessness isn't simply about constructing buildings.
People experiencing homelessness can have very different needs. Some need emergency shelter. Others need supportive housing. Some need help accessing services, health supports or other community resources.
Effective housing policy has to recognize those differences.
Bringing people together
After becoming mayor, I pushed for a housing symposium, which was held in 2019.
The symposium brought together non-profit organizations, developers, local and provincial elected officials and staff. It was an opportunity to talk about the housing challenges facing our community and, importantly, to bring the people working on different parts of the problem into the same conversation.
That collaborative approach has continued.
The City has also used its Affordable Housing Fund to support housing projects identified as priorities by Council.
The goal isn't for City Hall to try to do everything itself.
The goal is to use the tools available to the City to help create the conditions for more housing and to work with organizations that have the expertise and resources to deliver it.
What has that collaboration produced?
There are now a number of housing and shelter projects in the community that have benefited from this broader collaborative approach.
They include:
- The Junction - 46 units for people at risk of homelessness.
- 810 Braidwood - 35 units for people at risk of homelessness.
- Connect Centre - 33 shelter beds providing temporary accommodation and support.
- The Lodge - 67 units for people at risk of homelessness.
- Salvation Army - Expanded capacity including 18 beds, 20 emergency shelter beds and 6 transitional housing units.
- Darry's Place - 40 units for women and children fleeing domestic violence.
- Mission Ridge - 23 units for people at risk of homelessness.
- Habitat for Humanity - 12 units of affordable homeownership on Piercy Road.
- Cumberland Road - In 2025, CFB Comox purchased a 52-unit building on Cumberland Road.
Each of these projects addresses a different part of the housing continuum.
Housing isn't one problem
When we talk about "the housing crisis," we can sometimes make it sound like there is one problem and therefore one solution.
There isn't.
Someone sleeping outside needs a different solution from a person leaving an unsafe home.
A person experiencing chronic homelessness may need supportive housing.
A working family may need a reasonably priced rental.
A first-time buyer may need an affordable ownership opportunity.
A senior may need a smaller, accessible home that allows them to remain in their community.
This is why I believe we need to think about housing across three broad areas:
- Shelter.
- Non-market housing.
- Market housing.
We need all three.
Increasing the supply of housing
There is also a broader supply issue.
According to the information I have been tracking, the number of housing units being built each year in the region has increased substantially. When I became mayor, the number of units built annually was under 200. In some recent years, that number has exceeded 650, with annual construction now regularly exceeding 400 units.
At the same time, our vacancy rate, which had effectively been at zero for decades, has finally risen above five per cent.
That doesn't mean the housing problem is solved.
It does mean that increasing supply can make a measurable difference.
We need to continue working on housing across the entire spectrum.
The role of senior governments
Municipal governments have important tools, but they don't have the financial resources or jurisdiction to solve the housing crisis alone.
Provincial and federal governments play major roles in funding housing, shelters and supportive housing.
That makes relationships with senior governments particularly important.
One example is the 925 Braidwood project.
The project includes approximately 73 shelter beds, with the ability to add up to 30 additional beds during extreme weather. It will also include approximately 70 small studio homes for local residents who need support to remain housed.
In 2026, many shelter and supportive-housing projects underway in other communities were lost from the provincial budget. Through collaborative advocacy, the 925 Braidwood project continued moving forward.
This illustrates why municipal leadership cannot stop at the boundaries of City Hall.
We need to advocate for Courtenay and the Comox Valley while working with the organizations and governments that have the resources and jurisdiction to make major housing projects possible.
What should the City keep doing?
There isn't a single policy that will solve housing affordability.
We need to keep using every tool available to us.
That includes:
- Supporting non-market housing.
Working with non-profit organizations to create housing for people who cannot compete in the private market. - Supporting market housing.
Creating the conditions for appropriate new housing to be built. - Supporting emergency shelter.
Making sure people who have nowhere else to go have somewhere safe. - Working regionally.
Housing doesn't stop at municipal boundaries, so our solutions can't either. - Working with senior governments.
Provincial and federal funding is essential for many of the projects our community needs. - Listening to local organizations.
The people working directly with people experiencing homelessness and housing insecurity bring expertise that governments need to hear.
Housing requires persistence
Housing is not a problem that can be solved during one election cycle.
It requires long-term planning, partnerships and persistence.
It also requires being realistic about what a municipality can accomplish on its own.
As a City, we can help create the conditions for housing. We can support projects. We can provide funding where appropriate. We can bring partners together. We can advocate to senior governments.
But we also need non-profits, developers, the regional district, the provincial government and the federal government at the table.
The measure of success isn't whether City Hall can claim responsibility for every new unit.
The measure of success is whether more people in our community can find a safe, appropriate and affordable place to call home.
That is the work we need to continue.