OTTAWA — Federal Housing Minister Sean Fraser says a search is underway for a new CEO of Canada’s housing agency after current leader Romy Bowers has said she’s stepping down. 

Fraser says in a news release that Bowers will be leaving the role in December to take a job as director of the office of risk management at the International Monetary Fund.

Bowers took on the role as head of CMHC in April 2021. Before that, she was chief risk officer at the agency.

The government says that CMHC chief financial officer Michel Tremblay will step into the role of CEO until it can conduct an “open, transparent, and merit-based” selection process to find a replacement for Bowers. 

Her departure comes as Canada’s housing affordability crisis worsens under the weight of high interest rate, inflation, and a deep mismatch between supply and demand.

The search for a new leader of the federal housing agency comes as the government works to select people for various CMHC board of director positions. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 27, 2023.

The Canadian Press