CMHC funds a share of this affordable housing supply nationally through its programs, but the units themselves are managed locally, and eligibility is based on household income against a published threshold, not on a lottery open to anyone who applies. A middle-class household earning a typical local income would generally sit above that threshold and would not qualify.
This is a genuinely different system from a middle-income affordable housing lottery, and it exists because the goal here is housing households who cannot afford market rent at all, not subsidizing a household that could afford it but would prefer to pay less. As of 2026, that distinction is exactly why a middle-class applicant is directed to the regular rental market instead.
If you are comparing renting against buying while household income is a factor either way, that comparison is worth doing with real numbers, not an assumption borrowed from a different housing system. Get your hand-reviewed valuation from Joel Dyck.