Dr. Craig Jones, Director of the Housing Assessment Resource Tools (HART) Project, has spent more than a decade trying to make sure that the people making housing decisions have the evidence they need to address Canada’s housing crisis.
Last week, the Canadian Housing and Renewal Association recognized Jones’s work with their 2026 Leadership Award, which honours excellence in leadership on housing and homelessness.
At HART, Jones’s research and advocacy have helped shape the federal government’s Public Lands for Homes plan, the updated Federal Lands Initiative, and the Canada Rental Protection Fund, as well as dozens of municipal housing plans and strategies across the country.
“Dr. Jones has been an invaluable partner to the non-profit housing sector, said Erika Sagert, Director of Sector Capacity at the BC Non-Profit Housing Association. “His contributions to housing research and policy in Canada [have] fundamentally reshaped how communities across the country identify and address housing needs.”
Across all of Jones’s work, he's been a dedicated advocate for more non-profit housing, more community housing on public land, stronger tenant protections, and better access to housing data for everyone who needs it. He’s led the development, implementation and advocacy of the HART Project since its inception, and has researched and advocated for better housing policy for over a decade.
In June, the HART team is launching the BC Public Lands Map — a tool that will map all publicly owned land in BC with data on servicing, amenities, slope, natural disaster risk, and potential housing yield.
Established in 2022 and based at the Peter A. Allard School of Law, the HART Project has saved governments and non-profit organizations millions annually through its free housing research, reporting and policy tools. To learn more about HART's work, sign up for their newsletter or read their Impact Report.
