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The City of Edmonton is investing up to $20 million over four years to support Indigenous-owned affordable housing.
The Affordable Housing Investment Program is the City’s largest affordable housing program, providing grants for the construction of new housing and the repair of existing housing since 2018. For the first time, Indigenous housing developers are eligible for $5 million in dedicated funding each year until 2026. The new grants will provide up to 40 per cent of construction costs for Indigenous-owned, environmentally sustainable affordable housing.
The City’s 2022 Housing Needs Assessment found that 1 in 3 Indigenous renter households are in “core housing need,” meaning they pay more than they can afford or are forced to live in crowded or unsafe conditions. Of the approximately 2,800 people experiencing homelessness in Edmonton, nearly 60 per cent are Indigenous.
An additional $10 million annually is available to all housing providers for new affordable housing or the repair of existing affordable housing. Up to 25 per cent of capital costs are eligible under the original funding streams. To receive grant funding, housing providers must offer rents at 80 per cent of the market rate or lower or rent geared-to-income at no more than 30 per cent of household income for 20 to 40 years.
Between 2018 and 2022, the City invested $48.1 million for 1,106 new or rehabilitated units through the program. Every City dollar spent on affordable housing stimulated approximately $8 in additional investment from non-market housing developers and other levels of government.
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