Social Housing in Canada has its origins in 1946 when the Federal Government was challenged to house returning soldiers from World War II and their families. The response was a plan to build and maintain affordable housing for veterans, administered by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), a Federal agency which continues to this day.

• Download ONPHA's one-page graphic Timeline: History of Social Housing in Ontario

During the 1950s and 1960s, CMHC's mandate was broadened to provide affordable housing for low-income families. This was the era of 'Public Housing'-housing owned and operated by the government.

During the 1970s the approach to social housing was revamped, which resulted in two new streams of social housing: Co-op Housing which is owned and operated by residents, and Non-Profit Housing which provides housing owned by not-for-profit groups in the local community. While still funded by CMHC, the governance was placed in the community for built-in responsiveness. There was also an emphasis on mixed-income housing—which combined low-income and moderate-income households to foster a healthy social environment.

Between 1985-1989 the Ontario government was directly involved in social housing and funded the building of non-profits and co-ops through the then-Ministry of Housing. The majority of non-profit housing in Ontario was built during this period. By 1993 however, the Federal Government had largely stopped participating in the construction of new social housing, and the Provincial Government followed suit by 1995.

With the passage of the Social Housing Reform Act at the end of 2000, the administration of social housing funding programs begins a process of devolution to Municipal governments. ONPHA's Municipalities and Housing section outlines this further.