Author

Diane Berard

Diane Bérard is the Future of Good reporter on Canadian social finance and impact investing. 

Diane's Latest Articles

Case Study: Kingston’s food bank pilot combines three innovative solutions for food insecurity

Carney’s National Food Strategy includes boosting local food production. Pilots are already deployed. The federal strategy is arriving to meet it, not lead it.

Explainer: What Realize Fund I’s final close says about the state of Canada’s social finance

Ottawa bet $400 million that public capital could build a private market for Canada's social economy. Realize Fund I's $276.7M close is the first real test.

Explainer: Modelled after B.C.’s success, Quebec is building its first province-wide rent bank network

Rent banks are one of the few homelessness‑prevention tools that intervene before a crisis, stabilizing tenants at a fraction of the cost of emergency shelters or rehousing

Montreal Sustainable Finance Summit: Inequality makes its way onto companies’ financial risk disclosures

The launch of the TISFD signals that social risk is no longer peripheral to financial stability, but is the next major test of whether markets can adapt to a world in crisis

Explainer: Canada takes another step toward a national fund to help community lenders get the financing they can’t access now

A first‑loss commitment from Boann signals that Canada’s long‑discussed loan‑guarantee infrastructure for community lenders is finally taking shape

The good landlord: how collective commercial real estate strengthens local economies

Montreal’s emerging collective real estate movement is reshaping how cities protect local businesses, artists and community assets.

What is infrastructure? It goes beyond walls and pavement: Social sector

Perhaps it's time to seriously consider redefining what infrastructure is.

Explainer: Quebec’s pension fund stopped investing in oil and made $4B more in green energy. Now politicians and Canada’s pension sector need to get the memo

Quebec’s pension giant proves renewables can outperform oil — and exposes how far behind the rest of Canada’s funds really are.

Explainer: A new tool to hold real estate investors accountable on housing

A new disclosure framework gives Canadian investors their first standardized way to assess whether their real estate portfolios align with the human right to housing.

Explainer: Why this new Nova-Scotia platform could solve a major community investing problem

Backr could solve a big barrier to local investing: the lack of infrastructure connecting everyday Canadians to community finance tools.

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