How REALTOR® Advocacy is Helping Shape Housing Policy for All Canadians
A better housing future begins with home.
For CREA CEO Janice Myers, helping Canadians find a safe, attainable home has long been a driving factor of her career in real estate. As someone who has called more than one corner of Canada home, she knows firsthand that a place doesn’t feel like home until you feel part of a community. And in her view, no matter where you are in the country, REALTORS® are some of the best individuals to bridge the gap between house and home.
Working in four-part harmony
When Myers stepped into her role at CREA in 2024, she knew that driving advocacy forward would be an important part of her tenure. Navigating an on-going and complex housing crisis has meant competing for federal attention amid a growing number of domestic and international priorities. For Myers, that’s not a sign to lean back, but to lean in.
It’s easy to advocate when everyone agrees, but it’s most necessary when they don’t. While governments across Canada work to forge new alliances and strategies to stand together in facing the issues of the day, Myers has been working hard to build similar alignment amongst the entire REALTOR® association community. With the input of housing leaders from across the country, she spearheaded the development of CREA’s latest strategic plan to guide the association through until 2028. In that plan, four key pillars were identified: member success and growth, REALTOR® value and professionalism, performance and culture, and, most critically, advocacy and impact.
Home is where the heart is
“Home is where the heart is,” a common phrase that takes on a new meaning when it comes to Myers’ mindset. For her, it’s paramount to approach homeownership and advocacy from a place of empathy and understanding, never forgetting our partners in addressing homelessness and social housing options.
CREA’s social purpose statement, “CREA opens doors to thriving futures for all, beginning with home,” is the guiding principle that CREA keeps at the forefront of its advocacy efforts.
“Housing is such a complex issue because it’s connected to safety and mental health, and other essential elements of life,” says Myers. “All you have to do is take a walk in any Canadian city, and it becomes apparent that we’re not all facing the same realities. I see it everyday, and the truth is many people are struggling.”
It’s not just anecdotal, many people in Canada are struggling to find safe, attainable housing they can build a home around. Since 2011, homeownership rates have been declining in Canada. It’s not a lack of desire, though, as 81% of Canadians 18-44 want to own a residential property some day; and they’re willing to compromise to do so.
While not every struggle is visible, or even universal, the numbers tell a strong story that begs for a better ending.
All you have to do is take a walk in any Canadian city, and it becomes apparent that we’re not all facing the same realities. I see it everyday, and the truth is many people are struggling.”
Janice Myers, CREA CEO
REALTORS® have the best seat in the house
When it comes to housing advocacy, REALTORS® have the best seat in the house. They’re on the frontlines of housing in every community across Canada. They know their communities, they know the data, and, by nature of their work, they’re talented communicators about housing. That makes them an invaluable resource to not only prospective home buyers and sellers, but government officials and staff who may not be housing experts, but know their constituents need help.
While Members of Parliament may have the official seat in the House of Commons, they rely on industry and regional experts to help them make smart and impactful decisions. It’s why for more than 40 years CREA has been harnessing that knowledge and power to bring strategic policy recommendations to the federal government to address the housing issues of the time through CREA’s annual Political Action Committee (PAC) Days conference.
The government can’t successfully address the housing crisis without experts weighing in.
Solutions may be closer than they appear
While the challenges may seem larger than ever, that doesn’t mean they’re unconquerable. CREA recently compiled a detailed pre-budget submission to the government where they highlighted five key opportunities for improvement:
- Treat individual multiplex units like condos for CMHC insurance purposes, so missing middle housing is financeable to own, not just build.
- Expand mortgage loan insurance to address middle housing supply and ownership options.
- Give permanent land-lease homes a mortgage, not a chattel loan.
- Reform income verification rules to reflect how Canadians actually earn money.
- Make the ‘stress test’ fluid.
The team will further refine these points heading into fall, with some becoming key recommendations that REALTORS® will bring directly to Members of Parliament and government officials during hundreds of meetings at PAC Days 2026 in Ottawa this October.
Professional organizations, like CREA, now commonly collect their expertise and data to share with governments and advocate on behalf of those they serve. What makes CREA’s efforts different is the size and reach of their REALTOR® membership; and the proud fact that CREA was among the trailblazers in Canadian professional association advocacy. In other words, CREA was one of the first and has been doing it the longest.
Over the past 12 months, nine recommendations advanced by CREA and REALTORS® have been reflected in the government’s emerging housing agenda, through key government signals like Budget 2025 and the 2026 Spring Economic Update. Other recent wins for home buyers that CREA and REALTORS® worked to advance include:
- major tax relief for new homebuyers;
- investments into prefabricated and modular housing;
- increases to the Home Buyers’ Plan withdrawal limit; and
- investments to key infrastructure to support growing communities.
While the specifics may adapt to the latest research and data, the REALTOR® recommendations are always focussed both on getting more houses built and making it more attainable for people to own those houses; something that helps REALTORS®, their clients, and the country.
If you’d like to learn how you can join other REALTORS® bridging the gap between governments and REALTORS®, houses and homes, reach out to your local board/association to express your interest in becoming a PAC Rep.
Myers is stepping up to the plate
Advocacy is about playing the long game, and Myers sees one of her most important roles as CREA CEO as helping REALTORS® make their collective voice heard. When she isn’t working with CREA leadership and staff to advance housing research, advocacy and member services, she’s meeting with key government decision-makers, speaking with national media and housing partners to bring REALTOR® perspectives and recommendations to the forefront.
For Myers, that means working alongside REALTOR® advocates across the country to amplify their expertise, strengthen their influence and ensure the issues they see in their communities are heard by those shaping Canada’s housing policies.
“Without a unified voice advocating for homeownership, it’s difficult to imagine where governments would be able to turn for the kind of data and insights necessary to develop proactive housing policies,” she says. “We’re at a key moment in time to preserve what middle-class living looks like for this country.”
We’re at a key moment in time to preserve what middle-class living looks like for this country.”
Janice Myers, CREA CEO
Governments work with houses, REALTORS® deal in homes
Housing advocacy is not just a unique talent of REALTORS®, but critical to their role in the housing ecosystem as key stakeholders in the Canadian housing market.
REALTORS® see and hear firsthand what is happening in communities across the country. They understand where supply is falling short and where barriers are getting in the way. While REALTORS® don’t build homes or set zoning and financing policies, their experience gives them an important voice in the conversation and an opportunity to influence the decisions that shape a healthy market.
What houses are built is among the most important missing piece that REALTORS® bear witness to. Building houses across the entire continuum is critical. What REALTORS® are so often reporting is the missing middle; that is, medium density, family-sized options, like semis, duplexes, and townhomes. In fact, 61% of Canadians say there are not enough homes being built that meet their size and layout needs. With development of these options lagging, the result is that young families and seniors who want to downsize are competing for the same stock. By adding middle housing, we can repair the housing bridge that takes people from one phase of life to the next during these key moments of change.
Every REALTOR® in the country can benefit from those who advocate for government policies and decisions that help make access to houses more widespread and, in many cases, that gain is due in part to a fellow REALTOR® working in partnership with CREA as a Political Action Committee (PAC) representative. Without those advocates, the voices of hundreds of thousands of home buyers and sellers across the country, the clients of REALTORS®, could be silenced, and fewer people would find their home.
It takes a community, a REALTOR® community
Finding solutions to the housing crisis is complicated because everyone is involved, says Myers. Every level of government. Our provincial and municipal real estate boards and association partners. Every Canadian, every person. The role of CREA, as Myers sees it, is to unify the voices in our community and empower the talented housing communicators we have in our ranks to amplify the most impactful ideas and data to the people who affect change.
“There is no single solution to Canada’s housing challenges, but there is enormous potential when we work together,” says Myers. “CREA and REALTORS® can and do help bring people, ideas and evidence together to advocate for meaningful change and a housing system that can better serve the needs of all Canadians.”
This article was originally published September 2026, in BUZZ Magazine.
