Today The Hub is proud to announce that ten finalists have been selected for the second annual Hunter Prize for Public Policy, along with their groundbreaking ideas to fundamentally fix Canada’s housing affordability crisis.
This year’s competition features a diverse group of finalists targeting areas including zoning rules, infrastructure financing, and regulatory and tax reform, to find a policy solution that would begin to alleviate Canada’s severe housing pains.
“Housing availability and affordability are enormous problems in the Canadian economy and they’re getting worse,” said Derrick Hunter, a trustee at the Hunter Family Foundation, which funds the prize, in an interview with The Hub. “We need to have novel solutions to tackle this problem, which stems from multiple causes. We’re excited to see the reaction of so many creative people willing to take the time to put ideas forward, to help to address the challenges. Clearly, we are touching a nerve.”
The finalists were picked from nearly 300 entries, a hundred more than last year’s competition garnered. The winner will be chosen by an esteemed panel of judges, including former Toronto chief city planner Jennifer Keesmaat, journalist Amanda Lang, economist and housing expert Mike Moffatt, former Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation CEO Evan Sidall, and real estate analytics specialist and entrepreneur Ben Rabidoux.
The Hub will publish 10 opinion editorials written by the finalists that will explain their high-impact policy reform to improve housing affordability for renters or buyers. The winner will be unveiled in October.
The finalists are vying for $50,000 in cash prizes, including $25,000 for the winner to help translate their idea into actionable public policy. The runner-up will receive a $5,000 prize. Those placing third through 10th will receive prizes of $2,500.
The 10 finalists, in no particular order, are as follows.
- Ben Dachis, a vice president of research and policy, for a proposal to utilise a different model of infrastructure financing to lower housing costs
- Chinonso Obeta, a policy analyst, for a proposal to tackle the financialization of housing
- Davis Kyle, a procurement and contract specialist, for a proposal to reform zoning regulations at the provincial level
- Frazier Fathers, a non-profit consultant, for a proposal to reform Committees of Adjustment
- Kristina Kulikow, a financial analyst, for a proposal to increase housing supply through land value tax reform
- Luhan Yao, a recent university graduate, for a proposal to encourage below-market rental options through tax incentives
- Phillippe Fournier, an architect, for a proposal to upend municipal zoning rules
- Rielly Young, a software engineer, for a proposal to develop a commercial-to-residential incentive
- Rui Tang, a graduate student at the University of Toronto, along with co-author Kexin Cui, for a proposal to transform single-family homes into multi-unit properties
- Stephanie Cantlay, an urban planner, along with co-author Nicholas Kuhl, for a proposal to reform municipal financing mechanisms to allow for more affordable housing
The Hunter Prize for Public Policy, funded by the Hunter Family Foundation, aims to shake up Canadian policymaking by promoting fresh ideas to take on a “wicked problem” and improve the economic and social well-being of Canadians.
