A McGill professor writing in Forbes compared Montreal, which creatively repurposes closed churches, with Dallas, arguing both overlook faith-owned land as a housing asset as about 10,000 Canadian churches face closure.

Releven’s Winnipeg Declaration urges Canadian faith leaders to turn underused church land into affordable housing, as a third of the country’s 27,000 religious buildings face closure, with projects such as a 110-unit tower at a Winnipeg Anglican church.

The United Church of Canada transferred Seodaemun House, a 1921 missionary residence in Seoul, and two other properties to the Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea in 1974 instead of selling them.

A Releven symposium heard that 144 of Edmonton’s 476 faith buildings run at a deficit, while churches such as St Paul’s Lutheran and Westmount Presbyterian have already added homes, and researchers called faith groups Canada’s second-largest landholders.

Toronto’s Evangel Hall Mission, which houses more than 165 formerly homeless people, argued in a 2025 article that churches redeveloping land must keep affordable community space, not just build housing.

Releven Realty, Canada’s first charitable brokerage for houses of worship, launched in 2025 to help congregations facing falling membership manage their buildings, from buying a storefront church to finding tenants that pay for repairs.

Toronto’s Anglican diocese, with more than 400 properties, adopted a Strategic Property Plan in 2024, set up a $5 million pre-development fund and is considering uniting more than 1,000 housing units into one non-profit entity.

Santiago’s 143-year-old Church of the Assumption, looted in 2019 and burned in 2020 during protests, reopened in May 2025 after rebuilding supported by Aid to the Church in Need and hundreds of donors.

The Archdiocese of Montreal has created a non-profit real estate corporation to help parishes manage, redevelop, rent or sell church properties as attendance and donations fall, including exploring affordable housing partnerships.

A Regina mutual aid co-op hopes to buy the former Trinity Lutheran Church, listed at $1.19 million, as a hub for homeless people, but needs more than $2 million and faces competing offers.