The Federal Government in the early 1990s set a course to devolve to the provinces six program/policy areas in response to constitutional and fiscal objectives. One of these was social housing. In March 1996, the Federal Government announced more specifically that it would devolve the housing program administration role of Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) to the provinces, and started negotiations with each province. The first devolution agreement was signed in March 1997; agreements have now been signed with five provinces and all territories, notable exceptions being British Columbia and Quebec. Each agreement is substantially the same. “Program administration” refers to the overall management of the funding system, allocation of funds to particular housing provider agencies, and related functions such as setting operating policies, co-ordinating mortgage renewals, approving major capital repair spending, and reviewing providers’ budgets and operations to determine funding needs and ensure program compliance. Currently, Ontario carries out program administration for the majority of social housing while CMHC does so for a minority.