Does Targeting Always Mean Retrenchment? Housing Assistance “Exceptionalism” in the Canadian Welfare State

Abstract

According to many scholars, policy targeting is the product of conservative and/or neoliberal politics. Targeting is perceived as a reduction of social welfare or a form of exclusion, usually resulting in no “winners” but only “losers.” Based on the study of housing assistance in Canadian provinces, this article argues that alternative views are possible. I emphasize the historic low coverage of housing assistance, that I term the housing “exceptionalism,” which refers to the small number of households who benefit from government support. The “exceptionalism” sets the stage to understanding why the vulnerable citizen winners have gained over the moderate-income losers.