The Equity Gap

Scaled Purpose

This is a three-part documentary podcast series about community land trusts and credit unions in Ontario who are working together to solve a stubborn problem: the equity gap that prevents communities from acquiring land collectively to keep it permanently affordable. The series follows the people behind a solutions lab in Ontario led by the Canadian Credit Union Association and Scaled Purpose as they ask: How can credit unions leverage innovative financing tools to help community land trusts overcome the equity gap to deliver more affordable housing?

Episodes

  1. Episode 1

    What if we owned the land together: Community Land Trusts

    What would it mean to own land together — and keep it affordable, forever? This first episode of The Equity Gap explores the growing movement of community land trusts: organizations that remove land from the speculative market and put it under community control. From Toronto's Kensington Market to Ottawa and Waterloo Region, meet the people working to close the equity gap standing between communities and the land beneath their feet. THANKS TO OUR GUESTS Chiyi Tam, Executive Director, Toronto Chinatown Land Trust Sean Campbell, Executive Director, Union Co-operative Dominique Russell, Co-director of Community, Kensington Market Community Land Trust Mike Bulthuis, Executive Director, Ottawa Community Land Trust CREDITS Produced and edited by Jay Harrison and Deren Atkins at Untied Productions. Hosted by Jay Harrison. Music courtesy of Epidemic Sound. Music featured in this episode includes: Finish Line by Mizlo, Filter (Instrumental Version) by Nic Hanson, Very Important Pineapple by Scoobadive, Lucky 7s by Guustavv, Some Kind of Friend (Instrumental Version) by Vicki Vox, and Infinity by Northside. This series was made possible by the Canadian Credit Union Association and Scaled Purpose, with support from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.

  2. Episode 2

    Different by design: Credit Unions

    Credit unions are built for communities, not short term returns. For a housing crisis that demands long-term thinking, that difference matters. Credit unions have been helping Canadians access housing since their inception nearly 100 years ago. In the face of today's housing crisis, that legacy matters more than ever. In this episode, we meet three credit union organizations involved in the solutions lab: a niche credit union with Mennonite roots and a deep commitment to mutual aid, a values-driven investment bank wholly owned by a credit union, and Ontario's largest credit union. Built for community, not quarterly returns, credit unions may be exactly the long-term partners that community land trusts need to preserve affordable housing. THANKS TO OUR GUESTS Jeff Guthrie, President and CEO, Canadian Credit Union Association Kate Pearce, Director of Values Integration, Kindred Credit Union Chloe Wong, Business Development Manager, VanCity Community Investment Bank Kevin VanCampen, Senior Vice President of Business Banking, Meridian Credit Union CREDITS Produced and edited by Jay Harrison and Deren Atkins at Untied Productions. Hosted by Jay Harrison. Music courtesy of Epidemic Sound. Music featured in this episode includes: Very Important Pineapple by Scoobadive, Oh My God (Instrumental version) by Zorro, Stomp & Shout by Candelion, Fantasize (Instrumental version) by I’MIN, and Vacation Barry by Jobii. This series was made possible by the Canadian Credit Union Association and Scaled Purpose, with support from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.

  3. Episode 3

    Inside the Solutions Lab

    In the final episode of this three-part series, The Equity Gap goes inside the CLT-credit union solutions lab. We hear about why Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation invested in solutions labs as a way to tackle Canada’s housing crisis. Lab participants walk us through the portfolio of solutions they've been prototyping, and the ones they're most excited to see tested in the real world — from blended finance tools that let credit unions stack mortgage debt with community and foundation capital, to GICs that let community members fund CLT acquisitions directly through their credit union. It’s certain that one of the lab’s most durable outputs may be the relationships and trust built between the credit union and CLT sectors. As one participant puts it, the relationships built here are what turn strangers from two different sectors into people who pick up the phone and call each other with an idea. THANKS TO OUR GUESTS Andrew Cowan, Senior Specialist, Innovation and Research at Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation Sean Geobey, Associate Professor in the School of Environment, Enterprise and Development at the University of Waterloo, & consultant with Scaled Purpose Mike Bulthuis, Executive Director, Ottawa Community Land Trust Sean Campbell, Executive Director, Union Co-operative Kate Pearce, Director of Values Integration, Kindred Credit Union Dominique Russell, Co-director of Community, Kensington Market Community Land Trust Keith Taylor, Executive Director, DUCA Impact Lab Kevin VanCampen, Senior Vice President of Business Banking, Meridian Credit Union Chloe Wong, Business Development Manager, Vancity Community Investment Bank James Yool, Regional Manager in Commercial Lending at Kindred Credit Union CREDITS Produced, edited, and hosted by Jay Harrison at Untied Productions. Music courtesy of Epidemic Sound. Music featured in this episode includes: Very Important Pineapple by Scoobadive, Me Vs World by MV Archives, Squeezing Lime (Instrumental Version) by Sandro, and Beatmospheres by Gridded. This series was made possible by the Canadian Credit Union Association and Scaled Purpose, with support from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.

  4. Bonus

    Bonus Episode - LIVE Recording of Land Trusts Across Toronto: 2026 Jack Quarter Lectureship on the Social Economy

    This bonus episode is part of a 3-part series called The Equity Gap, which follows a small group of Ontario-based community land trusts and credit unions working together through a solutions lab to try to solve the financing barrier that gets in the way of communities buying land together. Hear the full story of the solutions lab on the first 3 episodes of The Equity Gap; available wherever you listen to podcasts. In this episode we’re sharing a conversation with 3 Toronto-based community land trusts presented in March at the 2026 Jack Quarter Lectureship on the Social Economy at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto. About the 2026 Jack Quarter Lectureship on the Social Economy Land Trusts Across Toronto: Resisting Displacement Through Collective Ownership. A community-led collective lecture by: Parkdale Neighbourhood Land Trust, Little Jamaica Community Land Trust, and the Kensington Market Community Land Trust. Held March 6th, 2026. 5-7:30 pm. Nexus Lounge, OISE Building, University of Toronto. Sponsored by: The Centre for Learning, Social Economy and Work (CLSEW) and The Institute for Inclusive Economies and Sustainable Livelihoods (IIESL). Presented in cooperation with: The OISE 2026 Graduate Student Research Conference. Panel Organized by CLSEW Co-Directors Dr. Marcelo Vieta and Dr. Hye Su Kuk. Panel Chair: Dr. Hye-Su Kuk Panelists in order of presentation: Joshua Barndt, Parkdale Neighbourhood Land Trust Anyika Mark, Little Jamaica Community Land Trust Dominique Russell, Kensington Market Community Land Trust CREDITS Recorded by Alison Stratten. Produced and edited by Jay Harrison at Untied Productions. This series was made possible by the Canadian Credit Union Association and Scaled Purpose, with support from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.

  • 4 Episodes

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

This is a three-part documentary podcast series about community land trusts and credit unions in Ontario who are working together to solve a stubborn problem: the equity gap that prevents communities from acquiring land collectively to keep it permanently affordable. The series follows the people behind a solutions lab in Ontario led by the Canadian Credit Union Association and Scaled Purpose as they ask: How can credit unions leverage innovative financing tools to help community land trusts overcome the equity gap to deliver more affordable housing?

Information

  • Creator
    Scaled Purpose
  • Episodes
    4
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Scaled Purpose, 2026
  • Show Website
    The Equity Gap