The Tamarack Institute is a registered Canadian charity dedicated to ending poverty in all its forms, for good. We support real people and invest in real communities for long-term change.
This case study was compiled by Sr. Marion Sheridan (CSM) and Joanne Tompkins, who are both members of Martha Justice Ministry, in collaboration with Orpah Cundangan (Tamarack Institute).
The Antigonish Affordable Housing Society (AAHS) is a non-profit, charitable organization based in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, that aims to provide sustainable housing solutions by partnering with community champions, organizations, businesses, and government to make affordable homes into a reality. Each of their builds considers the economic, environmental, and social dimensions of sustainability as outlined by the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.
Since 2017, the AAHS has created 26 new affordable housing units for 68 people, comprising both individuals and families. The work was done using a community-based approach focused not just on building housing (infrastructure) but building homes.
This case study documents how a group of collaborators came together to support a community-driven effort to make housing more accessible. Eradicating poverty is complex work, and partnerships are needed to create the community capacity necessary to build systems like affordable housing that, in the words of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, ensure that “no one will be left behind.”
Context: A Community Rooted in Social Change
The Antigonish Movement
Antigonish has a long history of social activism and community engagement. A small university town in rural Eastern Nova Scotia, Antigonish is home to St. Francis Xavier University (StFX), a small liberal arts university with a Catholic heritage. In the late 1920s, many rural Nova Scotians – especially those in fishing, farming, and mining communities – faced dire economic conditions as capitalism drove exploitation and deepened hardships for workers. People living in rural areas had little to no economic control over the resource industries of which they were part, and many were abandoning their communities and moving away to the eastern United States.
Out of this inequitable economic reality, the people of Eastern Nova Scotia, inspired by the work of two forward-thinking Catholic priests, Father J.J. Tompkins and Father Moses Coady, developed an economic philosophy and models nested in social cooperation.
Through highly participatory, democratic, and empowering learning formats like kitchen meetings, study groups, and People’s Schools (group discussions about contemporary issues that begin with “the knowledge of the people”), the people of Antigonish came together to define their specific challenges and to come up with solutions. They eventually created farming, forestry, blueberry, and fishing cooperatives, as well as local credit unions and cooperative stores. This also led to the establishment of Canada’s first cooperative housing development in the town of Reserve Mines, in Cape Breton.
Many individuals and groups contributed to what became known as the Antigonish Movement. Among these were many Sisters from the Congregation of the Sisters of Saint Martha, a Catholic religious congregation founded in 1900 whose mission has been to serve the community through acts of hospitality and justice.
The Coady Institute
In 1928, StFX created an Extension Department to support the Antigonish Movement in creating and expanding social structures that fostered social and economic empowerment. Building on this legacy, the Coady Institute was founded in 1959 and continues to train participants locally, nationally, and internationally in the principles and strategies of social justice and adult education.
The Antigonish Affordable Housing Society (AAHS)
By the 1990s, however, increasing poverty and a shortage of affordable housing, exacerbated by student rental demand, created significant challenges for low-income residents in Antigonish. In response, local activists and representatives from across Antigonish Town and County volunteered to establish the Antigonish Affordable Housing Society (AAHS) committee in 1993. This work was done with support from many community organizations, including the Antigonish Women’s Resource Centre and the Sisters of St. Martha, who provided foundational coordination and funding for the committee’s initial activities. Local videos were produced to raise awareness, giving voice to residents affected by the hidden housing crisis.
Pre-Conditions: The Rise of Community Champions and Funders
The Sisters of St. Martha emerged as a key advocate for affordable housing and an essential partner to the AAHS, driven by their deep commitment to social justice. Members of the congregation actively participated in the early committees of the AAHS, laying the foundation for a lasting partnership.
Engaging with broader networks of religious women’s congregations working to provide affordable housing in major cities across Canada, the Sisters of St. Martha brought national and international perspectives on affordable housing and housing rights to Antigonish. These connections – some extending to UN Civil Society Forums – enabled the Sisters to infuse local discussions with a global understanding of adequate housing as a human right, thus enriching the AAHS’s mission.
This commitment to making the right to housing a reality in Antigonish led the Sisters of St. Martha to not only support AAHS with their advocacy and thought partnership but with financial backing as well.
The AAHS Becomes a Charity
In 2014, the AAHS transitioned from a committee to a registered Canadian charity with a formal board structure. This better positioned the organization to be effective in its advocacy work and to secure funding to create affordable housing units.
A member of the Sisters of St. Martha served on this inaugural board, strengthening the alignment between the AAHS’s goals and the Sisters’ core values rooted in Catholic Social Teaching and its focus on the eradication of poverty.
Financial Support from a Local Congregation
On July 28, 2014, the Sisters of St. Martha provided a $30,000 loan to enable the new AAHS Board to hire consultants to assess the feasibility of private fundraising to create affordable housing units.
Because the consultants found limited capacity for large-scale donations locally, the Marthas stepped forward again with a foundational $100,000 donation. This significant contribution allowed the AAHS to leverage further funding from municipal, provincial, and federal levels of government, which they then leveraged to obtain mortgages from Antigonish's Bergengren Credit Union (now merged with East Coast Credit Union) and the Canadian Mortgages and Housing Association (CMHA).
While the Board pursued community fundraising efforts, the Sisters’ initial financial support was crucial in meeting the early funding challenges and securing the resources needed from other partners to create affordable housing units.
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Building Strong, Cross-Sectoral Community Partnerships
With key support from the Sisters of St. Martha, the AAHS has been able to build and leverage partnerships across sectors to make affordable housing a reality in Antigonish over the last seven years.
Foundational Donation
In 2017, braced with that foundational $100,000 donation from the Sisters of St. Martha, the AAHS was given land from the Town of Antigonish to complete their first affordable housing build, Riverside Estates. The AAHS Board worked to create high visibility, enthusiasm, and excitement around this first build, which helped them to secure a forgivable loan of $100,000 from Housing Nova Scotia (i.e., a loan that can be deferred and sometimes doesn’t need to be repaid).
This funding then enabled the AAHS to obtain a mortgage from the Bergengren Credit Union, which became another key partner. Through partnerships, the wheels of affordable housing were finally beginning to turn.
Official Opening of Riverside Estates: Members from the AAHS Board; the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Martha; Riverside Estates tenants; and representatives from the Town, County, and Province attend the official opening of Riverside Estates.
Entrance to Riverside Estates.
Side view of Riverside Estates.
Community Learning on Affordable Housing
In 2018, StFX’s Extension Department hosted a People’s School on Affordable Housing. The event drew many people from across Nova Scotia and New Brunswick to look at the AAHS model and to discuss ways they might begin working on affordable housing in their own communities.
The People’s School on Affordable Housing: Over 60 people from Nova Scotia and New Brunswick attended the People’s School on Affordable Housing co-hosted by the Extension Department at StFX and the Antigonish Affordable Housing Society (AAHS) in March 2018.
As the AAHS sought to expand Riverside Estates with 10 additional units (including two barrier-free units, all of which were built using environmentally friendly materials like solar panels), key local government support came from both the Town and the County of Antigonish. Each level of government provided $100,000, with the County spreading its funding over five years. The Sisters of St. Martha also issued a $200,000 loan, which was later repaid.
These funds and loans allowed the AAHS to obtain a second mortgage from the Bergengren Credit Union.
During this time, local Member of Parliament Sean Fraser was a constant supportive partner for affordable housing.
AAHS’s key partners
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Building Homes, Not Just Housing
The AAHS's goal of fostering social sustainability has resonated deeply with the mission and values of the Sisters of St. Martha since its first inception.
The AAHS worked to achieve this goal by promoting connections within its affordable housing communities and between those communities and the broader Antigonish population. Its approach represented a shift from traditional affordable housing models that focused primarily on constructing physical structures.
Strategies for Social Inclusion
Instead, the AAHS emphasized building homes that would advance and realize social inclusion using the following strategies:
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Community rooms within each affordable housing build, designed as spaces where tenants could meet socially to build intentional community
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A paid Community Navigator who, according to the AAHS, would provide “much needed support to our tenants while fostering a sense of community.” The Community Navigator plays a crucial role in connecting residents to resources and support services, helping them overcome barriers to self-sufficiency and to thrive within their community
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A Tenant Advisory Committee to ensure that the Board is “kept informed of tenants' concerns and community building initiatives.” Additionally, a member of the Tenant Advisory Committee sits on the AAHS Board.
As the AAHS expanded Riverside Estates, it prioritized creating a community room to make it easier for residents to participate in decision-making processes about the development of the Estates. Securing funding for this space, however, was initially challenging.
The Aviva Community Fund
A board member suggested applying for the Aviva Community Fund, which funded community-led initiatives through a public voting process.
The AAHS submitted a proposal for $100,000, and an intensive month-long voting campaign followed, with the AAHS team rallying local, national, and international support. Thanks to connections through the Sisters of St. Martha (and their involvement with the United Nations), many votes came from around the world. The AAHS emerged as one of two top recipients, winning $100,000 to bring the community room to life and reinforcing their commitment to building homes, not just houses.
Aviva Announcement in December 2017: Turnout of local community and partners to the announcement that the AAHS had received $ 100,000 from the Aviva Community fund.
Formal Opening for the Community Room at Riverside Estates: The formal the opening event was attended by representatives from all levels of government: federal, provincial, and municipal (Town and County).
Building Momentum Through Collaboration
Having established a positive reputation across Nova Scotia and building on strengthening partnerships with both the Town and County of Antigonish, the AAHS completed a third affordable housing build in 2022, Appleseed Drive – 12 units built on land donated by the County, who also gave $100,000 in funding over a five-year period. The Town of Antigonish also contributed $100,000, as well as the Sisters of St. Martha.
In addition, the AAHS worked closely with the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation to receive a grant and mortgage once other funding was in place, after CMHC had initially refused them funding for social housing.
With all of this key funding and partnerships in place, the AAHS successfully applied for additional funding through the National Housing Strategy and received $2.2 million from the Federal Government, which eliminated the need for a public capital campaign to break ground on Appleseed Drive.
Aerial View of Appleseed Drive
Street View of Appleseed Drive
A partnership with Antigonish Community Energy Co-op enabled AAHS to install solar panels on the housing units in Riverside Estates and Appleseed Drive
The AAHS has built strong, cross-sectoral community partnerships to finance the capital and construction costs of their affordable housing units. The government has also been willing to provide capital funding, but not operational funding (costs which remain the responsibility of the AAHS).
Where the AAHS faces funding challenges, however, is for the essential wraparound services that promote residents’ social inclusion and community building, like the Community Navigator role. To date, the AAHS has funded this role through a one-time grant of $40,000 and an additional donation from the Sisters of St. Martha. They are actively exploring innovative funding solutions to sustain this critical position.
Aligning Local Actions with Global Goals
For decades, community building and development in Antigonish has involved taking action to eliminate poverty. This commitment was formalized through the Antigonish Poverty Reduction Coalition's Poverty Reduction 5-Year Action Plan (2011), which outlined transformative poverty reduction strategies.
These initiatives included:
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establishing a public community transit system;
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creating the Antigonish Food Security Association;
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launching the Antigonish Emergency Fuel Fund;
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prioritizing income assistance programs that enabled accessible, high-quality education and recreation opportunities for children; and
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founding the Antigonish Affordable Housing Society.
Embracing the Sustainable Development Goals
The Sisters of St. Martha brought a unique global perspective to the AAHS through their involvement with the United Nations. In 2015, the UN adopted 17 interrelated Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aimed at addressing poverty in all its dimensions. Among these, providing affordable housing was recognized as a fundamental commitment to treating every person with dignity. Goal 17 also emphasized collaboration with governments, sectors, and community members to generate the political will needed to achieve the SDGs, which Canada signed on to implement.
Anchored in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its pledge to “leave no one behind,” the Sisters of St. Martha embraced the SDG framework in their governance and ministry decisions. When the Sisters partnered with the AAHS Board, they extended this global alignment to local efforts, weaving the SDGs into the mission and vision of the AAHS.
The AAHS's approach to affordable housing goes beyond simply providing housing units. They focus on creating sustainable communities within their affordable housing builds, which fits within the broader global context of sustainable development.
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Final Thoughts
The creation of affordable housing in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, reflects the enduring spirit of the Antigonish Movement – community-driven cooperation to create lasting change. Partners from across the community, including federal, provincial, and municipal governments, Bergengren Credit Union, the Sisters of St. Martha, and many other local organizations and community have come together to support the AAHS’s affordable housing units and to ensure they remain sustainable. Eradicating poverty (SDG 1) is complex work, and partnerships are needed to create the community capacity necessary to build the structures that ensure no one is left behind.
