The central proposition of this thesis is that Canada is experiencing a crisis of affordability in housing that has been exacerbated by neoliberalism. Within neoliberalism, there has been a dramatic change in Canadian housing policy toward an increasing reliance on market forces. A consequence of neoliberalism is a crisis of affordability; there is a shortage of affordable housing for people with low incomes. However, there has also been an advent of new ways to address the housing shortage including some resistance to the neoliberal housing policy and practices promoted by various levels of government. This study examines how five Ottawa based non-profit organizations have been responding to the shortage of affordable housing. The thesis concludes that there are a variety of ways that these organizations have found to successfully innovate to provide some social housing despite neoliberal government housing policy.