DCHP-2

social housing DCHP-2 (July 2016)

• n. & adj. — Administration, Politics

  affordable, government-subsidized housing for low-income families and individuals.

  Type: 2. Preservation — The Canadian government passed the National Housing Act in 1938, which provided for the construction of low-rent homes. Low-cost housing continues to be provided by federal or provincial governments for seniors, persons with disabilities, and, beginning in 1974, for Aboriginal people (see Canadian Encyclopedia reference). The term is a preservation from British English, and is still used most frequently there (see Chart 1). The term is generally in use world-wide, but in the North American context it is about six times as frequent in Canada as in the US. CMHC, the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation, has been the biggest provider of social housing over its 70-year existence.
  See also COD-2, s.v. "social housing", which is marked "Cdn & Brit".