Habitat for Humanity Canada (HFHC, also known as Habitat Canada; ) is a non-governmental, and non-profit housing organization in Canada, being the Canadian arm of the global Habitat for Humanity.
The Habitat for Humanity movement spread to Canada in 1985, with the first Canadian build taking place in Winkler, Manitoba. HFHC has since grown to 50 affiliates in all 13 provinces & territories, with each affiliate being managed by a local board of directors. HFHC has been in all ten provinces since 1998 (the final province being Quebec), and all three territories since 2014.
Since its founding, HFHC has successfully provided over 3,800 families with safe, decent, and affordable housing.
The world’s first ReStore was opened by Habitat for Humanity Winnipeg in 1991.
History
Habitat for Humanity International was founded in 1996 by Millard and Linda Fuller in the United States. In September 1984, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and his wife began the Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project in New York City.
Habitat for Humanity Canada was founded in 1985, with the inaugural meeting and first home built in Winkler, Manitoba. This marked the first national Habitat organization to be established outside of the United States. That house would go to Ernie and Gloria Penner, who were chosen as Habitat for Humanity’s first home recipients in Canada after a six-month application process. Ernie and Gloria were chosen as they were raising their children in a two-bedroom apartment in Winkler, and homeownership seemed beyond their reach.
On June 22, 1987, Winnipeg became home to the first local Habitat in Canada, Habitat for Humanity Winnipeg (later renamed Habitat for Humanity Manitoba). In early 1988, the Habitat for Humanity Canada national office was established in Waterloo, Ontario.
In April 1991, the world’s first ReStore was opened by Habitat for Humanity in Winnipeg. It operated in a small building located at Palliser Furniture, and mostly sold used lumber in its nascent years.
With its first build in Quebec in 1998, Habitat homes have since been built in all ten provinces.
In 2007, then-Governor General of Canada Michaëlle Jean became Vice Regal Patron for HFHC.
Prairies and Pacific
Manitoba
Habitat for Humanity Canada was founded and built its first ever home in Winkler, Manitoba, in 1985.
On June 22, 1987, Winnipeg became home to the first local Habitat for Humanity in Canada, as Habitat for Humanity Winnipeg.
Four years later, in 1991, the world’s first ReStore was opened by Habitat for Humanity in Winnipeg, with the help of five volunteers.
In 1993, Winnipeg, along with Waterloo, Ontario, hosted the first international Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project in Canada. Planning for this event began in 1991, when Winnipeg was formally invited to host. In 1992, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter personally asked Winnipeg Mayor Bill Norrie to create the Winnipeg Habitat Foundation, an advisory group of corporate and community leaders overseeing the project. 1993 marked Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter's very first time venturing outside of the United States on behalf of Habitat for Humanity International.
In 2012, Habitat for Humanity Winnipeg was renamed to Habitat for Humanity Manitoba.
Alberta
There are five Habitat for Humanity affiliates in Alberta:
Habitat for Humanity Camrose, based in Camrose
Habitat for Humanity Edmonton, based in Edmonton and serving communities in northern Alberta since 1991. Habitat for Humanity Lethbridge, based in Lethbridge and serving the area since at least 2011. Habitat for Humanity Red Deer, based in Red Deer County and serving Central Alberta since 1994. Habitat for Humanity Southern Alberta, based in Calgary and serving Southern Alberta since 1990.
British Columbia
There are seven Habitat for Humanity affiliates in British Columbia: