A home is so much more than a physical space where you keep your belongings, eat your meals, and sleep at night. Ottawa Community Housing Corporation (OCHC) CEO Stéphane Giguère says it’s “your pillar to succeed in life”.
As the head of Ottawa’s largest provider of social housing, Giguère manages a $4‑billion portfolio for an organization that has 33,000 tenants and 14,000 more on a waiting list. Some would call it a job, but when you meet Giguère, you quickly realize that leading Ottawa Community Housing (OCH) is a passion that extends far beyond building low‑income homes; for him, it’s about creating opportunities for OCH tenants.
Giguère grew up in Quebec City in what he describes as a modest household. There wasn’t much extra, but there was family and a community that instilled in him strong values, a solid work ethic, and a desire to give back. At university, he earned a Master’s degree in Public Administration from École nationale d’administration publique (ENAP) and worked in the private sector as well as broadcasting before taking on his current role in 2014.
He credits the combination of his early life, education, and work experience with providing the skills needed to lead OCH, saying, “We operate as a small, medium‑sized business, but with a large‑scale mandate of owning and managing $4 billion in assets.” His broad scope of abilities has helped make OCH an award‑winning organization, that has been recognized as one of the National Capital Region’s Top Employers for the seventh year in a row. But it’s the importance he places on small gestures that sets him—and ultimately OCH—apart.
A large percentage of OCH tenants are new immigrants to Canada, and Giguère exudes pride as he describes the initiatives designed to support tenants through the OCH Foundation (OCHF), which operates many programs with community partners. These include Pack‑a‑Sack, which provides school supplies; the Inspired by Learning Bursary for post‑secondary students; and recLINK, which connects kids with activities. But it is the Hop on Bikes program that resonates most deeply with Giguère—it is a partnership with a personal connection.
OCHF collaborates with Re‑Cycles Ottawa, which provides refurbished bikes along with new helmets and locks to OCH residents. Giguère becomes animated as he explains that a bicycle is freedom—and that, when he was a young boy, his first bicycle was donated to him. “When you’re young, 7, 8, even 10 years old, a bicycle is freedom. Freedom to go to the convenience store, to find friends. You don’t see that impact until you miss having one.” In 2025, this partnership’s mission was to give one bicycle to a resident for each calendar day, a goal Giguère describes as “just amazing.”
Giguère appears gratified to be the head of an organization that doesn’t simply look at building codes and bottom lines but at the individuals who occupy those spaces. As he explains, “There are a lot of connections between the little Stéphane that grew up in a lower‑income community and the Stéphane who became a CEO of a $4 billion corporation, which is OCH.”
To further support residents, Giguère explains the working relationships OCH has with its 170 community partners that provide an array of services—everything from preparing annual tax returns to mental health support. OCH works with individual agencies to provide space in OCH buildings to run these services and believes that this “small business mentality” has enabled Ottawa Community Housing to scale and double its assets over the last ten years while providing valuable support for its residents.
Giguère avers that at OCH, the mandate is “not just about building homes for people, it’s about building communities.” He explains the importance of this holistic approach, which centres on creating stability for residents and helping them find their own path. “Because everyone (each OCH resident) is at a different point in their lives. They need different resources and capacities.” He knows that by providing a home—a foundation for individuals and families—and community support, residents will find jobs, thrive, and ultimately give back. It’s something he has seen play out over the years.
OCH is currently constructing Mosaïq, a multi‑building, 273‑home development across from its existing Mosaïq 1 buildings: a fresh, contemporary six‑year‑old high‑rise at 811 Gladstone with 108 units, plus an additional 32 townhomes tucked behind. Both sites were previously occupied by 1960s social housing townhomes that were demolished. The new OCH development, designed by Ottawa’s Hobin Architecture—which was awarded the 2022 Design Excellence Award for a Not‑for‑Profit Project for Mosaïq—includes numerous innovative sustainability features that are not only good for the environment but also designed to save tenants money on utility bills.
Giguère acknowledges OCH’s commitment to the environment and sustainable building. He mentions OCH’s goals for reducing carbon emissions and improving building lifecycles, but says, “Sustainability for us is that continuum from maintaining to building, but also building communities, where it’s about the people.”
OCH’s people-centred approach to community housing is resonating with tenants, who are invited to weigh in on the issues that matter to them. “We (OCH) make decisions that are tied to budgetary constraints, but beyond that, it’s really to make sure that our residents have a voice”, explains Giguère, who says OCH’s “co-design approach” seeks tenant input on everything from selecting paint colours for existing buildings to shaping new programs.
That input comes through multiple channels, including “pulse surveys” — 26,000 of which were completed last year alone — as well as through community events and tenant meetings. The dialogue benefits residents who gain meaningful opportunities to engage with management, but it also strengthens OCH as an organization. According to Giguère, the OCH tenants’ association is 700-member strong, an unusually high number compared with other landlords, but the real achievement is how actively tenants volunteer and give back to the community.
Despite managing a workforce of 500 employees, 1,400 contractors and about 1,000 volunteers, Giguère exudes a very approachable, no‑job‑too‑small mindset. He credits the corporate mission of striving to be “the best possible service delivery agency in affordable housing” with keeping the team focused on the importance of their work. He says employees share the corporation’s C.A.R.E. Values—Collaboration, Accountability, Respect, Excellence—and are “looking to make a difference in someone’s life.” Even if it’s simply fixing a doorknob in a resident’s apartment, Giguère wants that tenant to have the best experience.
Ottawa Community Housing is in good hands with Stéphane Giguère at the helm. As for the next generation, he is lending his experience and wisdom to establishing a program around housing and real estate at uOttawa’s Telfer School of Management—a program that will no doubt educate future leaders to create people-centred communities where individuals have the resources to flourish, live sustainably, and give back—not simply build homes.
To learn more about Ottawa Community Housing or the Ottawa Community Housing Foundation, visit Ottawa Community Housing.
Header Photo: OLM Staff
