Introduction Housing is an important urban policy area because it is an essential good, and because its visibility and durability mean that the quality and appearance of the housing stock shape our current and our future urban environments. This article analyzes the evolution of post-war Canadian housing policy, identifying three distinct but interrelated policy phases. The analysis suggests that the solutions, adopted by governments to meet the problems deemed to be central during one phase, have often created problems requiring different solutions in the subsequent period. The article concludes by identifying some of the, as yet, unresolved problems facing those who make housing policy in the current phase.