CANMORE – Canmore Community Housing is looking for a new executive director for the second time in a 13-month span.
Michelle Ouellette resigned from the high-profile housing role Wednesday (March 27), leaving Canmore Community Housing's (CCH) board of directors to fill the position once again.
Though short, Ouellette said she was proud of her work with the housing authority, ranging from starting the development process of the Palliser Trail area structure plan (ASP) to add more than 1,000 units to below-market rental and ownership opportunities for residents.
In addition to kickstarting repair and rehabilitation work for existing CCH properties, a new 18-unit affordable housing project in Stewart Creek will start construction this year.
“During my time with CCH, I transformed the business operations which required a significant modernization and I built a high-performing team of professionals who are capable to continue the great work I initiated … to add to the below-market rental and ownership housing portfolios governed by CCH,” she said in an email.
“I also initiated much needed repair and rehabilitation work for our existing rental assets. This is to ensure that CCH housing is performing well and that CCH clients are comfortable in their space.”
Rob Murray, CCH’s board chair, said the nine-member board was surprised by Ouellette’s resignation.
Murray said in an email Ouellette “brought a lot of positive energy and change to CCH,” and the board wished her the best in her next career move.
A subcommittee has been struck to begin searching for a new executive director for a new head of the housing authority. The previous search wielded more than 100 applications, and Murray said the board hopes to see similar high interest in the role.
Murray said Kristopher Mathieu, CCH’s project manager, has assumed some responsibilities of the executive director role until a new head is selected by the board.
With the void in the executive director role, Murray said there won’t be any delay in moving forward with affordable housing projects such as in the Palliser area and Stewart Creek.
“Michelle was able to assemble a very talented and capable team in the office before her departure and we have no doubt they will be able to carry our current projects forward,” he said.
Ouellette became executive director last July after a months-long search.
Before joining CCH, she was the regional division manager for planning with McElhanney Ltd. Ouellette was a frequent presenter at Canmore’s council, planning commission and Subdivision and Development Appeal Board since 2021 for a wide array of housing-related projects in the community.
A land use amendment for a four- and six-storey apartment building in the Palliser area, where the off-leash dog park is for, was given first reading Tuesday (April 2).
The number of staff of CCH also expanded in anticipation for the greater role of development. A new lease in the Devonian building was also signed on 10th Street, but there is no set date to immediately move offices.
The position, which was previously a managing director role, became vacant in February 2023 when longtime CCH head Dougal Forteath was fired without cause.
In the leadup to Ouellette being brought on, former Town of Canmore CAO and CCH board member Lisa de Soto assumed the role of strategic leadership advisor.
In 2022, the board saw a significant shake-up when four of the nine board positions were made up of council members. At the time, it had originally been recommended by Town staff to have five council members on the board and the remainder be public members.
Murray said despite the two changes in a 13-month period, the board has no concern about any reputational impact.
“At the end of the day, what matters most is what our organization has been able to accomplish, which is the ability to house hundreds of Canmore residents in non-market homeownership and rental units, two major new projects currently underway, and a lot more to come,” he said. “No matter who is leading CCH, this important work will continue.”
Ouellette’s leaving is the latest contention in the Town’s struggle when it comes to housing.
The Town was passed over for the federal government’s Housing Accelerator Fund – a nationwide $4 billion initiative – earlier in March.
While the Town has stated it believed the federal fund ultimately wouldn’t have fit its needs, the fund provided money to 178 municipalities and $900-million to Quebec to assist with various housing needs.
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation provided 10 best practices, which emphasized the need to end exclusionary zoning, increase permitting processing efficiency and improve permitting timelines.
Sean Fraser, the federal housing minister, said when announcing $4.66 million for the Town of Banff that funding would only go to “the most ambitious communities” and that applications should be “more ambitious than their neighbours” when specifically asked about Canmore’s application.
Alberta housing minister Jason Nixon also pressed the Town in late February to stop resisting development if they wanted to see investments from the province and “they better start approving projects.”
The Town and area developers have also had an increased contentious relationship in recent years.
The Town and Three Sisters Mountain Village Properties Limited went to the Land and Property Rights Tribunal (LPRT) over the Smith Creek and Three Sisters Village ASPs. The tribunal ruled entirely in favour of TSMVPL and the Court of Appeal upheld the decision, ultimately delaying development for about two-and-a-half years.
Bow Valley Builders and Developers Association commissioned a third-party review of the Town’s development permitting timelines, which showed them to be significantly behind the legislated requirements. Town council also approved an off-site levy bylaw amendment in March, which could potentially go to the LPRT if appealed.
However, Canmore council approved the Palliser Trail area structure plan last year, with CCH playing a prominent role in the development of what aims to be about 1,300 housing units. Of those, roughly 1,000 are to be affordable units.
The plan is expected to be developed over the next 10-20 years, with the Town, CCH and the province owning land in the development area. Before the 2023 provincial election, the Conservative government committed to gifting 2.3 hectares of land valued at $8.7million for development. The lands are to be transferred when a plan for development is brought forward and to be done by early 2026 at the latest.
CCH is a non-profit organization owned by the Town, but run as an independent organization. It was established in 2000 to support a range of sustainable and affordable housing for the community.
CCH has an inventory of 172 affordable homes for ownership and 118 in its rental program.
The ownership waitlist is 259 and rental is 240. The ownership list added 130 applications last year, with the rental program wait list growing by 149 in 2023.
There were 19 ownership sales last year and a turnover of 29 rental units in 2023.
