Montreal housing advocate recognized for protecting affordability while safeguarding neighbourhood social fabric
August 20, 2026 • WestmountMag.ca
Wednesday, August 19, Jennifer Maccarone, MNA for Westmount–Saint-Louis, presented the Medal of the Member of the National Assembly to Robert Cohen, recognizing a Montreal career that has consistently placed people, neighbourhoods and the principle of affordable housing at its centre.
A Westmount resident, Cohen has spent decades working at the intersection of law, housing policy, urban development and community action. His record is remarkable not only for its scope, but also for a steadfast idea that now seems more pressing than ever: renewal should strengthen a neighbourhood without forcing out the people who live there. Born in Montreal, Cohen has been a member of the Barreau du Québec since 1974. He earned a Bachelor of Arts from McGill University in 1965 and a Bachelor of Civil Law from McGill in 1969.
Between 1973 and 1979, he served as an articling student, lawyer and eventually Attorney-Director at Services juridiques de Pointe-Saint-Charles et de la Petite-Bourgogne. His practice included administrative and family law, consumer protection, housing, and legal support for co-operatives and non-profit organizations. Those years gave Cohen an understanding of housing not as an abstract planning issue, but as the foundation of personal stability, family life and community continuity.
That perspective proved pivotal at Milton Parc. From 1979 to 1988, Cohen served as Vice President and Director-General of the Société d’amélioration Milton Parc Inc. (SAMP), the community development corporation headed by renowned architect and philanthropist Phyllis Lambert that played a decisive role in preserving one of Montreal’s most distinctive urban neighbourhoods.
Milton Parc faced the familiar threat: large-scale redevelopment, demolition, and displacement.
Milton Parc faced the familiar threat: large-scale redevelopment, demolition, and displacement. Instead, a determined coalition of residents, professionals and community advocates pursued a different path. The result was a landmark co-operative and non-profit housing initiative that preserved both buildings and community, creating a co-operative for social purposes (known elsewhere as a “land trust”) to prevent speculative trading in perpetuity.
Robert Cohen headed a multidisciplinary technical team of architects, planners, community development facilitators and financial experts. Under his leadership, the project oversaw a $32.5-million capital program, major renovations to 587 housing units and 11 commercial or office premises, and the transfer of ownership to 20 co-operative and non-profit organizations.
The Milton Parc model became a powerful example of what community-based redevelopment could accomplish. It protected existing residents, maintained affordable homes and demonstrated that a neighbourhood’s social fabric can be treated as an asset worth preserving.
The Milton Parc model became a powerful example of what community-based redevelopment could accomplish.
Cohen later served as Director-General of the Société d’habitation et de développement de Montréal from 1988 to 1995, guiding a major municipal housing and development organization. His subsequent consulting work took him across Canada and abroad, contributing to housing initiatives in the United States, Latvia and South Africa.
His contributions have been recognized with the CHRA CMHC Award for Outstanding Contribution to Affordable Housing, the CHRA International Award, the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal and NAHRO’s 2018 John D. Lange International Award.
In presenting this medal, Maccarone recognized more than a distinguished professional career. She honoured a Montrealer whose work has helped show that progress in a city should not come at the cost of the communities that give it life.
Feature image courtesy of the MNA for Westmount–Saint-Louis, Jennifer Maccarone
