Canada’s housing agency is getting a new boss. 

The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation announced Tuesday that Romy Bowers will assume the roles of the agency's president and chief executive officer, effective April 6.

Bowers was hired for a five-year term following what CMHC described was “an open, transparent and merit-based process”.

She replaces outgoing CEO Evan Siddall, who walked back his own dire predictions of how the COVID-19 pandemic would affect Canadian homes in a series of tweets on Monday.

Prior to the pandemic, Siddall warned that home prices would not return to their early-2020 levels until the end of 2022. On Monday, Siddall tweeted that he "never pretended to have [a] crystal ball".

“During her tenure as Senior VP at CMHC and throughout her career, Romy Bowers has utilized her experience, knowledge and expertise to help CMHC support Canadians and ensure their housing needs are met,” said Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, in a statement.

“I am confident that her leadership will help move CMHC forward with its housing affordability mandate.”

Bowers joined CMHC as chief risk officer in 2015 from the financial sector, having worked 12 years with the Bank of Montreal. Most recently she was CMHC’s senior vice president of client solutions.