Establishing a strategic plan for an organization like ours can be a complex endeavor. There are many voices, competing priorities, and community needs to take into account. We started this process by listening to many of you – our co-op members and partners. It served as an excellent opportunity to connect with passionate co-operative housing advocates, seniors seeking community, and families looking for a permanent and affordable place to call home. We hope that this plan reflects the wisdom, passion, and empathy that went into its development.

Co-operative housing has a long history in this province, but until the last decade had been in a long period of little to no growth. The Co-operative Housing Federation of BC set out to revive and expand co-operative housing options through the creation of Community Land Trust and in 2014 made a breakthrough partnership with the City of Vancouver. New co-op housing buildings have been built and saved ever since.

Now, over a decade later, we’re looking to grow that success through future-focused long-term planning. There is an Indigenous concept called the Seventh Generation Principle, in which decisions are made thinking seven generations ahead, to how choices made now will impact the seven generations who come after us. It requires a lens of sustainability and community-focused collaboration.

By prioritizing this long-term collective good over short-term profits, we can design communities and homes that benefit not just the current generation, but the ones to come after us. Co-op housing supports this by providing housing options that are permanent and affordable, so that our community members can live their best lives, secure in the knowledge that they won’t lose their homes to unexpected evictions or unsustainably high rent increases.

With this view in mind, we’ve developed a bold and ambitious five-year strategic plan. We aim to enhance our internal capacity, expand our influence, and foster a thriving co-operative housing sector that is resilient, inclusive and sustainable.

But most of all, this plan is about you – our members, partners, and collaborators. By working hand-in-hand with you we can and will create and build vibrant, supportive, and empowered co-op communities across British Columbia.

Thank you for joining this journey with us.

Learn more about the 2025-30 strategic plan