Housing For Single Mothers in Canada

Finding affordable housing for single mothers in Canada is one of the most frequent inquiries I receive on this website. In general, Canada is known for its hardship in ensuring quality and affordable housing. When it comes to single mothers, the housing issue is even more pronounced.

In one of my earlier posts, I wrote about the difficulties that single moms are frequently faced with when searching for a good rental home. In the last eight years of being a single mother, I have encountered them all myself. Even though I initially put myself on a list for subsidized housing, I was quickly told that waiting for it can take years, even decades! That made me realize that waiting for subsidized housing was futile. Although I should mention that I’ve met single moms who were successful in obtaining subsidized housing rather quickly. Everyone’s circumstances are different, so it really depends on how fast you need the housing and what situation you are in.

To address the hot topic of housing, I wanted to share resources available to help you find a new home for you and your kids. As always, if something is missing on this list, or you know additional resources that could be added to benefit other moms, please comment and share!

New Brunswick

If you reside in New Brunswick and have the primary custody of your children, you can apply for the Housing Benefit. Under this benefit, you can receive between $300 – $475 per month for your rental residence. Learn more about this housing benefit and apply here.

Ontario

Rent-Geared-to-Income (RGI) housing subsidy is available to you if you live in Ontario. Priority is given to mothers who are fleeing domestic abuse, or those with terminal illness. To apply, you need to make sure you have filed your annual taxes and can provide your most recent Notice of Assessment.

For Toronto application click here

For Hamilton application click here

Hamilton city also provides a rental supplement paid directly to the landlord on your behalf, click here to learn more.

Nova Scotia

For rent supplement available in Nova Scotia, you can go here, and then find your local housing authority office on their website.

Manitoba

The province of Manitoba has Rent Assist program to help you either with rental or mortgage costs. Learn more about this housing subsidy on this page.

Saskatchewan

To receive housing subsidy in Saskatchewan, which can help cover both your rental costs and utilities, you can apply here.

Alberta

In the province of Alberta, you can apply for the Rent Assistance Benefit which is paid directly to you to help cover your rental costs. On this page, you can learn about this subsidy, as well as other options like Alberta’s Community Housing and Special Needs Housing.

Quebec

To learn about the Shelter Allowance Program available to single mothers residing in Quebec, check out the information page here. Under this program, you can receive up to $100 per month to help you cover the cost of your rental housing.

British Columbia

Offered through the BC Housing, Rental Assistance Program in British Columbia can help you cover your rental housing costs if your income is $40,000 or less and you have minor dependent children. To learn about this subsidy and how to apply, go here.

Yukon

Even though Yukon’s Rent Subsidy program is currently fully subscribed, they encourage you to apply anyways and be placed on the waitlist depending on the urgency of your sistuation. To learn more about this program check out this page.

Nunavut

If you are a single mother in Nunavut and are paying over 30% of your income for rental housing, you can apply for the Housing Benefit. Priority is given to mothers fleeing domestic abuse, indigenous mothers, or single mothers with a disability. To learn more and to apply, go to this page.

With the number of single-mother families in Canada increasing every year, it’s clear there needs to be a long-term solution to address the housing affordability issue by the government both on the federal and municipal levels.