Minister Vandal announces Budget 2022 housing investments in Nunavut

Press Release

From: Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada

April 13, 2022 — Iqaluit, Nunavut — Crown–Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada

Today, the Minister of Northern Affairs, the Honourable Daniel Vandal, announced new federal investments in housing.

Through Budget 2022: A Plan to Grow Our Economy and Make Life More Affordable, the Government of Canada makes targeted and responsible investments to create good jobs, grow our economy and build a Canada where nobody gets left behind.

New investments in housing build on historic housing and infrastructure funding made in Budget 2021. Budget 2022 proposes $150 million over two years to support affordable housing and related infrastructure in the North. Of this amount, $60 million would be provided to the Government of Nunavut. This flexible funding will allow partners to continue to advance their immediate and most pressing housing and infrastructure needs.

Access to safe and affordable housing is critical to improving health and social outcomes and to ensuring a better future for Indigenous communities and children. Building on more than $2.7 billion to support housing in Indigenous communities since 2015, Budget 2022 proposes $4.3 billion to improve and expand Indigenous housing in Canada, and specifically includes $845 million to support housing in Inuit communities.

Targeted infrastructure investments in Inuit communities and distinctions-based funding represent another important step on the path of reconciliation between the government and Indigenous Peoples.

Budget 2022 takes significant steps that will help build more homes and make housing more affordable for Indigenous Peoples, regardless of where they live, which is why it further proposes to invest $300 million to co-develop and launch an Urban, Rural and Northern Indigenous Housing Strategy.

Everyone should have a safe and affordable place to call home. Budget 2022 housing measures are the most ambitious plan that Canada has ever had to solve this fundamental problem, and these measures include critical investments to address the unique challenges faced by northern and Indigenous communities in accessing safe, adequate and affordable housing.

Through Budget 2022: A Plan to Grow Our Economy and Make Life More Affordable, the Government of Canada is making progress on its commitments to close gaps between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people in Canada, help build strong and resilient northern communities, and provide the homes that all Canadians need.

Quotes

“Budget 2022 is about affordability wherever Canadians are—and that especially means a safe place to call home. Our government is putting forward significant investments to help northern and Indigenous partners address the unique housing and infrastructure challenges that northern and isolated communities face. It will mean more homes, more good-paying jobs and healthier, stronger and more prosperous northern communities for years to come.”

The Honourable Daniel Vandal, P.C., M.P.
Minister of Northern Affairs

“Housing is key to the health, well-being and stability of Nunavut’s communities—it is connected to public health concerns such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the ongoing Tuberculosis epidemic, and Arctic sovereignty and security. I am pleased to see housing as a shared priority between the federal government, the Government of Nunavut and Nunavut’s Inuit Organizations. In the recently released Katujjiluta mandate, our government identified the need for all levels of government and Inuit Organizations to partner to address Nunavut’s housing gap. Working together, we can propose tangible solutions to ensure that all Nunavummiut have a roof over their head.”

The Honourable P.J. Akeeagok
Premier of Nunavut

“We thank our partners in the federal government for responding to our calls for aid. The importance of housing is key to the Katujjiluta mandate we unveiled mere weeks ago. We take this funding as proof that both our governments recognize Nunavummiut cannot thrive without adequate, affordable housing. We are also pleased to work with our partners in Nunavut Tunngavik to collaborate on our shared goal of ensuring a future in which all Nunavummiut have a place to call home.”

The Honourable Lorne Kusugak
Minister responsible for the Nunavut Housing Corporation

“Today’s announcement regarding investments in infrastructure and housing represent a clear acknowledgement from our federal partners for the need of a new, transformational approach to solving the deep infrastructure and housing gaps in Nunavut. The $845 million investment in distinctions-based funding to address Inuit housing needs across Inuit Nunangat is a clear step forward to supporting Inuit self-determination and advancing reconciliation for Inuit. We look forward to working with our government partners at all levels on an equal footing to develop the housing and infrastructure solutions required for Nunavut Inuit to enjoy the same quality of life as the rest of Canada.”

Aluki Kotierk
President of Nunavut Tunngavik Inc.

“These important investments in Nunavut are an investment in Canada; they not only go a long way to bring Nunavut infrastructure up to southern standards of living, but also to allow us to grow and thrive. There is a lot more work, but as you can see we are here standing together; these partnerships are how we are all going to get stronger.”

Kenny Bell
Mayor of Iqaluit, Nunavut

Quick facts

Budget 2022 proposes $150 million over two years, starting in 2022–23, to support affordable housing and related infrastructure in the North. Of this amount, $60 million would be provided to the Government of Nunavut, $60 million to the Government of the Northwest Territories and $30 million to the Government of Yukon.
Budget 2022 proposes to provide a further $4 billion over seven years, starting in 2022–23, to accelerate work in closing Indigenous housing gaps as follows:
- $2.4 billion over five years to support First Nations housing on reserves
- $565 million over five years to support housing in First Nations Self-Governing and Modern Treaty Holders communities
- $845 million over seven years to support housing in Inuit communities
- $190 million over seven years for housing in Métis communities.
Budget 2022 proposes $300 million over five years to co-develop and launch an Urban, Rural and Northern Indigenous Housing Strategy.
Additional measures in Budget 2022 to make housing more affordable include:
- creating the Tax-Free First Home Savings Account that would give prospective first-time home buyers the ability to save up to $40,000
- $4 billion over five years, starting in 2022–23, to launch a new Housing Accelerator Fund, with a target of creating 100,000 net new housing units over the next five years
- $1.5 billion over two years, starting in 2022–23, to extend the Rapid Housing Initiative to create at least 6,000 new affordable housing units, with at least 25% of funding going toward women-focused housing projects
- $2.9 billion in funding, on a cash basis, under the National Housing Co-Investment Fund to accelerate the creation of up to 4,300 new units and the repair of up to 17,800 units for the Canadians who need them most
- $475 million in 2022–23 to provide a one-time $500 payment to those facing housing affordability challenges
- reallocating $500 million of funding on a cash basis from the National Housing Co-Investment Fund to launch a new Co-operative Housing Development Program aimed at expanding co-op housing in Canada
- providing an additional $1 billion in loans to be reallocated from the Rental Construction Financing Initiative to support co-op housing projects
- offering a Multigenerational Home Renovation Tax Credit, which would provide up to $7,500 in support for constructing a secondary suite for a senior or an adult with a disability
- $150 million over five years, starting in 2022–23, to develop the Canada Green Buildings Strategy
- $200 million over five years, starting in 2022–23, to create the Deep Retrofit Accelerator Initiative, which will provide support for retrofit audits and project management for large projects to accelerate the pace of deep retrofits in Canada, including a focus on low-income affordable housing
- $562.2 million over two years, starting in 2024–25, to continue providing doubled annual funding for Reaching Home
- $18.1 million over three years, starting in 2022–23, to conduct research about what further measures could contribute to eliminating chronic homelessness
- doubling the First-Time Home Buyers’ Tax Credit amount to $10,000; the enhanced credit would provide up to $1,500 in direct support to home buyers
- $200 million in dedicated support under the existing Affordable Housing Innovation Fund, including $100 million to support non-profit organizations, co-ops, developers and rent-to-own companies building new rent-to-own units