On February 22, the Prime Minister announced another grant for affordable housing through the CMHC Housing Accelerator Fund. A total of $13.3 million has been allocated to the Cape Breton Regional Municipality and the First Nations community of Membertou.
A $1.9-million agreement was reached with the Membertou, while a separate agreement was made with the surrounding Cape Breton Regional Municipality. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau travelled to Nova Scotia on February 22nd to announce this funding.
The agreements and funding aim to expedite the construction of 367 new housing units over the next three years and more than 3,286 homes over the next ten years. This will help to meet housing demand in the region. A key goal is to help eliminate barriers to building necessary housing and expedite construction work.
The agreement with the Cape Breton Regional Municipality will create more housing options in the region. This includes allowing six units as-of-right in serviceable areas, and using pre-approved building plans to speed up construction of denser housing such as apartments and six-plexes. As part of the agreement, the municipality will also focus on building more affordable units, while reducing construction time and costs through financial incentives for builders. The municipality will also build more homes near transit and reduce parking requirements to make housing as accessible as possible. Streamlining the municipal application and permitting processes and reducing processing times by developing and implementing an electronic permitting platform are also included in the scope. Combined, these initiatives should improve how the region builds and provides affordable housing. Another element of the agreement is to address climate change and floodplain risks, including implementing strategies for relocation and property purchases.
The second agreement will provide the Membertou First Nation with over $1.9 million to support new housing and infrastructure upgrades. The funding will enable the Membertou First Nation to recruit housing administration staff and construction managers to expedite and facilitate projects. The funds will also go towards critical infrastructure work in the community, including improving access to bridges, water, and sewer services.
The grant money comes from the federal government’s $4 billion Housing Accelerator Fund, which was started in March 2023, and encourages municipalities to make changes to rules and policies in ways that boost housing construction. This includes adopting denser zoning rules, streamlining approvals for building permits and increasing the use of public and underutilized lands. Incentives are also available for non-profit and private homebuilders to develop affordable housing projects.
The Prime Minister’s announcement in Cape Breton followed other recent pledges to support affordable housing. As of this announcement, the federal government has signed 52 similar agreements since the launch of the fund. Municipalities and regions throughout Canada have benefitted, either through the large/urban grant stream or the small/rural/North/Indigenous stream. Altogether, these agreements will expedite an estimated total of over 600,000 housing units over the next ten years.
