Our story

At Civida, Life Starts With a Home. Civida has long history of providing affordable housing options for Edmonton families. We began as the Edmonton Housing Authority in 1970; in 1995, we became Capital Region Housing. Today, we are Civida — the largest provider of social and near market homes in the Edmonton region. We also lead the way in housing research, policy development and advocacy. A lot has changed since 1970, but our mission remains the same: To provide safe and affordable housing.

Our mission: To provide safe and affordable housing.

Our vision: Everybody’s home.

Our Guiding Principles

Sustainability: We will build an organization that will value and promote financial, social and environmental sustainability.

Excellence: We will embody service and operational excellence, creating an environment where customers can achieve their highest independence.

Engagement: We will ensure all our partners – tenants, staff, service providers and governments – are fully aware and engaged in our success.

Innovation: We will develop innovative and creative housing solutions and approaches.

Our Corporate Values

Integrity: We act with respect, embrace diversity and treat everyone with empathy and fairness.

Diligence: We use the best information to focus on positive change and solutions.

Stewardship: We exercise responsible management of our housing and resources.

Authenticity: We foster an environment of accountability where all feel safe to work collaboratively and transparently.

Investment: We invest in the success of our employees and customers.

What we do

At Civida, our focus is on providing affordable housing. We manage more than 4,300 social housing rental units and over 900 near market and market housing rental units.

We also offer a mixed income model where the cost of housing is partly funded.

Our expertise and guidance have helped more than 25,000 people in the Edmonton region find a home they can afford.

We are a proud member of the Alberta Seniors and Community Housing Association.

Our services include:

Property management: we provide professional housing and asset management.

Program administration: we ensure social housing and rent subsidy programs run smoothly for applicants, tenants and funders.

Research and policy: our policy and research team aims to influence provincial and national housing policy and best practices.

Property development: we create more affordable housing options across Edmonton through new builds and renovation projects.

Our Commitment

At Civida, we know a home is about so much more than the roof over your head. It’s about feeling like you belong. That’s why we work hard to create a sense of community.

We are committed to treating our customers with the respect and dignity they deserve. We will provide safe, inclusive and welcoming spaces where families can thrive, and communities can flourish.

 

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

Civida is committed to equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI). Building a culture of EDI into the organization will help foster an inclusive environment where customers, staff, and stakeholders are valued and respected. Civida is in the process of developing an EDI framework that will help Civida implement and sustain EDI practices throughout the organization.

Over the last year Civida has taken intentional steps towards bringing awareness of EDI practices across the organization. These actions include:

  • October 2022 – Began to meaningfully integrate land acknowledgements into regular meeting processes. Sharing this opportunity with multiple staff and learning from each other on how we might move in the direction of reconciliation.
  • October 2022 – Began developing the accessibility framework which is a document that outlines Civida’s approach to accessibility matters. The development of this framework was informed by external partners such as Voices of Albertans with Disabilities, tenants from Sir Douglas Bader Towers, Edmonton Community Legal Centre, and the Accessibility Advisory Committee of the City of Edmonton.
  • March 2023 – Hosted Erin Davis who is an EDI expert to speak to Civida staff about the importance of EDI and how to take tangible actions at work and within their own lives.
  • April 2023 – Actively working with the University of Alberta Housing Solutions Lab and Voices of Albertans with Disabilities to test an accessibility suite tool that measures the level of accessibility of each suite.
  • June 2023 – Provided accessibility training sessions to all staff across the organization in partnership with Voices of Albertans with Disabilities.

We have only just begun!  Civida will continue to develop and seek opportunities to integrate EDI into the organizational culture. Stay tuned for future developments and an EDI Framework that articulates our plans and intentions!