Change Can Happen. Profiles in community leadership: Margaret Pfoh

Central City Foundation is once again celebrating eight examples of extraordinary community leadership. We are highlighting the dedication and determination of those whose support for community-led solutions helped people in our inner city and beyond and have demonstrated that change can happen in our community. As part of this celebration, we have asked each of our profiled leaders to share with us their thoughts on leadership, community, and their relationship with Central City Foundation.

Margaret Pfoh, Chief Executive Officer, Aboriginal Housing Management Association

(Note: Margarets’s shawl by textile artist Yolonda Skelton, Sugiit Lukx Designs.)

A Profiles in Community Leadership celebrant in 2022, we would like to once again recognize Margaret Pfoh for her incredible vision and leadership. For over 25 years, Margaret has continued to foster important community development through empowerment and respect. In recent years, AHMA has launched innovative, first-of-its-kind initiatives like the Urban, Rural and Northern Indigenous Housing Strategy for BC, Complex Care Housing, and the Rental Protection Fund. You can read Margaret’s 2022 profile here.

A proud member of the Tsimshian Nation from the Ginaxgiik tribe (people of the Hemlock), which carries the powerful Blackfish crest, Margaret has dedicated over 30 years to advocating for Indigenous rights and advancing housing solutions for Indigenous Peoples across Canada.

Margaret is a Chartered Member of the Chartered Institute of Housing and a recipient of King Charles III’s Coronation Medal. Under her visionary leadership, AHMA has solidified its role as a key player in Indigenous housing. Margaret’s acumen was integral to the 2019 establishment of the Building BC: Indigenous Housing Fund, a historic partnership between AHMA and the government of British Columbia. This fund extended provincial support to Indigenous Peoples living both on and off reserve, and it was doubled in 2023 under AHMA’s guidance, setting a new standard for Canada.

In 2022, Margaret co-founded the National Indigenous Collaborative Housing Inc. (NICHI), further amplifying Indigenous voices in housing policy and ensuring Indigenous leadership is central to shaping national housing strategies. Following heavy advocacy, the federal government committed $4B to supporting urban Indigenous housing, the release of which AHMA continues to push.

In recent years, AHMA has launched innovative, first-of-its-kind initiatives like the Urban, Rural and Northern (URN) Indigenous Housing Strategy for BC, Complex Care Housing, and the Rental Protection Fund. These groundbreaking programs have been instrumental in addressing the evolving housing needs of urban Indigenous people. Margaret has also led AHMA into new Memorandums of Partnership with the First Nations Health Authority, Connective BC, Community Living BC, and, most recently, the BC Association of Aboriginal Friendship Centres.

A dynamic leader on national and international stages, Margaret’s influence reaches far beyond AHMA. Her engagements with the United Nations and her leadership roles within the CHRA underscore her commitment to Indigenous housing rights. She continues to champion justice for Indigenous Peoples globally, using her voice to highlight housing as an inherent human right.

Margaret’s enduring legacy is built not only on her past achievements but also on her forward-looking approach. In 2025, AHMA is launching an Indigenous Youth-led Housing Strategy for Indigenous Youth and a Gender-based Violence Indigenous Housing Strategy. By ensuring that AHMA’s strategic plan aligns with national and international advancements in Indigenous housing, Margaret’s work continues to shape policy, partnerships, and the future of Indigenous housing rights on a broad scale.