On September 24, 2026, the United Counties of Prescott and Russell (UCPR) hosted its first-ever Prescott and Russell Affordable Housing Summit at the River Rock Inn and Conference Centre in Clarence-Rockland.
Coordinated by the Housing Services team of the UCPR Social Services Department, the summit brought together more than 50 participants, including municipal representatives and regional partners, under the theme «Accelerating Solutions Through Partnerships and Innovation».
“Affordable housing and access to the housing market are a priority for me, both at the UCPR Council and at the Eastern Ontario Wardens’ Caucus, where I serve as Vice-Chair. Since the UCPR play a key role in the housing continuum, we must continue to address the challenges related to homelessness, the shortage of affordable housing, long waiting lists, and inadequate emergency shelters. To successfully achieve our goals, we must present a united front, and that is exactly what we accomplished at the Summit,” said Mario Zanth, warden of the UCPR.
Key highlights and details of the event include:
· The 10-year plan: The summit was organized as part of the region’s 2024 to 2034 Ten-Year Housing and Homelessness Action Plan. This plan maps out actionable paths to support emergency shelters, transitional housing, community cooperatives, affordable rentals, and homeownership.
· Collaboration and innovation: According to Jennifer Lambert, the UCPR Housing Plan Coordinator, the core goal was to accelerate housing projects through regional innovation and shared municipal strategies.
· Target areas: Discussions focused heavily on addressing acute housing shortages, reducing localized housing waitlists, and mitigating barriers to access like rigorous credit checks and steep rent demands.
“Thanks to the knowledge shared by the presenters and participants, we have a renewed sense of energy, more possible solutions, and several even more concrete actions to develop together. We wanted to accelerate our projects through collaboration and innovation at this first Summit – it was a success,” added Lambert
