2025 was a turning point for community land trusts in Canada.

Unprecedented investment by government, philanthropy, and social finance presented real opportunities for community land trusts (CLTs) to deliver on their promise of decommodified land stewarded by and for community.

CNCLT’s key accomplishments include hosting the Community Land Trust Summit in Kjipuktuk (Halifax) and releasing the Real Estate Acquisition Toolkit.

But the real transformation happened on the ground—our members achieved incredible things we are deeply proud to share:

British Columbia & Yukon

  • The Community Land Trust Foundation of British Columbia opened doors to the newly-built McHardy Street Co-op (102 homes) and the redeveloped Sunshine Housing Co-op (69 homes, acquired when faced with expiring land lease).
  • The Northern Community Land Trust Society and Yukon Housing Corporation signed an innovative new-to-Canada Statutory Covenant Agreement, restricting the resale price of homes sold by the CLT in their first development, Project 1096. First homeowners will move in by January 2026.
  • Downtown Eastside Community Land Trust is ending 2025 closing up the final details for their first acquisition, which they are set to take ownership of in January 2026.
  • Hogan’s Alley Society received conditional approval for a 12-storey building incorporating Afrocentric design principles, delivering 109 affordable homes above 7,400 sq. ft. of commercial space.

Manitoba

Ontario

  • The Co-operative Housing Federation of Toronto (CHFT) broke ground on Kennedy Green (612 homes), Canada’s largest new co-op housing development in over 30 years, which will be owned by CHFT’s Co-op Housing Land Trusts.
  • Parkdale’s Neighbourhood Land Trust was selected to build and lease Parkdale People’s Place, a 16-storey building with 175 homes and 23,000 sq. ft. of community space.
  • Kensington Market Community Land Trust purchased its second (2 homes, 1 retail space) and third buildings (26 homes, 11 retail spaces).
  • Sundance Commons grew to steward 5 agricultural sites across the Greater Toronto Area and incubated 10 Farmer Members—people who operate market gardens as businesses on land stewarded by Sundance Commons.
  • Ottawa Community Land Trust used $3M raised through a 2024 community bond campaign to finance two properties (16 homes). This fall, OCLT launched a second $10M campaign, in collaboration with a local non-profit housing operator.
  • Community & Cultural Spaces Trust made its first acquisition of a pottery guild office and recording studio, stabilizing arts spaces in Toronto.
  • Circle Community LandTrust is now halfway through its award-winning, 5-year renovation campaign to bring all of its 600+ homes to state-of-good-repair.

Québec

  • Brique par Brique transitioned into a CLT by establishing a membership and governance structure that incorporates resident and community participation in decision-making.

Nova Scotia

  • Upper Hammonds Plains Community Land Trust broke ground on 136 co-operative homes which will prioritize Black households, the largest Black-led co-operative development in Canadian history.
  • Weymouth Falls Community Land Trust acquired the Mount Beulah Baptist Church, an irreplaceable heritage site for the rural, African Nova Scotian community.
  • Women of First Light signed a historic Memorandum of Understanding, with the United Church of Canada and Tatamagouche Centre, setting out a vision for the church-owned land at Tatamagouche Centre to come back under Mi’kmaq stewardship.

…and these were just the highlights!

All year, CLTs demonstrated that community ownership of land is not only possible, but necessary to realize a more equitable future—one where land is regarded not as a commodity, but as a catalyst for community well-being, abundance, and transformation.

2025 was landmark year—and we can’t to see what is around the corner in 2026!