Mike Labbe
Michel Labbé, M.S.M. (Mike to many) is an Urban
and Regional Planning Graduate from the University
of Waterloo. He has been involved in the production
of affordable housing for 42 years, the first 13
working on subsidized rental projects with Lantana
Non-profit Housing Corporation who developed
7,600 units over that period. He was responsible for
identifying and securing land for successful
development under these programs.
A trip, to work in the Townships of Johannesburg,
South Africa, and the disappearance of government
grants contributed to a shift in focus to affordable
ownership housing.
In 1992, Mike founded Options for Homes NonProfit Corporation.
As President of Options For
Homes Non-profit Corporation, Mike has been
instrumental in developing a model that can provide
mixed income housing to thousands of households
without any permanent government subsidy. Options
for Homes has become a leading organisation in the Social Enterprise movement and has provided
homes to over 6500 households across Canada.
Options received numerous awards and honours over the 25 years that Mike was responsible for its
growth. The first the CMHC Affordable Housing Award in 2002. The City of Toronto the named
Mike an Affordable Housing Champion in 2010. In 2008, Mike was name winner of the Canadian
Urban Institute Local Hero Award. The Alumni Achievement award by the University of Waterloo in
2014. In 2015, he received the City Builder Award from the Canadian Urban Institute as and
received the EY Entrepreneur of the Year for social entrepreneurs. Mike was also a recipient of a
Meritorious Service Medal from the Governor General of Canada in 2016.
Options began expanding its business model to other social enterprises in 2009: car-sharing cooperative, Options for Cars, green energy division, Options for Green Energy, international homes
division, Options International, and the Community Wealth Non-Profit, a non-profit social enterprise
that acts as a financing agent for the social enterprise community.
Six countries across the world are now applying the Options model, including Kenya, Cameroon and
many others. Mike, as CEO of Options International has assisted in the construction of over 50
homes internationally.
In 2014, Mike started working with a group in Baffin Island, Nunavut in hopes to bring the Options’
Model up north. With an extremely high unemployment rate, Mike shifted his focus to developing
employment rather than housing. Since then, he has become the President of First Fish; a non-profit
working directly with the Inuit fishers of Pangnirtung with the goal of providing full employment for
the community.
In 2018, Mike left Options for Homes Non-profit Corporation (Greater Toronto Area) to launch his
current endeavour Home Opportunities Non-profit Corporation that in 2020 began working with the
Community Wealth Workforce Housing Coalition to develop poverty reducing hubs throughout
Ontario. The Coalition includes organizations like the Meridian Credit Union, the United Way, the
YMCA, the Canadian Mental Health Association and many other organizations developing a scalable
solution to address the issue of poverty. They are currently working on 5,000 units worth or potential
developments that will provide ownership opportunities to households with incomes between
$30,000 and $65,000 per year.