Part 4: Investments & Moving Forward(Blog Series)

Everyone deserves a dignified place to call home. For me, I am absolutely committed to using every tool available to achieve this goal - the city can do a lot but we can do a lot more with other organizations and orders of government. 

In Canada, provinces hold the key responsibility for funding and overseeing the development, maintenance, and administration of affordable housing programs and services (including shelters). While municipalities are limited when it comes to allocating financial resources towards affordable housing the City of Edmonton is doing everything within its power to address affordable housing in our city. 

City Council approved investments of $183 million to build new affordable homes and ensure existing ones are in good shape this budget cycle. The investment is expected to create or renew 3,631 affordable housing units by 2026. 

In 2022, as a result of capital and operating budget allocations, the City surpassed its 2019-2022 targets of supporting the creation or renovation of 2,500 affordable housing units, 600 of which would be dedicated to supportive housing.

In addition to this investment, the City of Edmonton also works with providers to sell city land below market value (often at 1$) for affordable housing projects and provides a property tax-exemption to affordable service providers.

Some other immediate actions that are being explored including faster permitting for non-market housing options, collaborating with First Nation and Metis Nations for Indigenous-led solutions, working with Homeward Trust to revise the community plan to prevent and end homelessness, have strategies and policies to that support accelerate more affordable housing (eg; Developer Sponsored Affordable Housing, and Affordable Housing Investment Guidelines). 

All this being said, the recent Affordable Housing Strategy showed the need for a total of $15.4 billion in investments by all orders of government and housing providers over the next 10 years to address current and projected affordable housing needs.

As you can see, this is an ongoing challenge that needs to be tackled by everyone working together. The City will continue to invest in affordable non-market housing and leveraging funding from other partners to achieve our goals. Over the next year we will have a new community plan, clear understanding of the City’s role in that community plan, and an invest strategy for affordable housing that will best leverage our funds for the betterment of Edmonton. 

Photos taken at the opening of the City of Edmonton completed supportive housing project in the neighbourhood of Wellington, “McAruther Supportive Housing” operated by NiGiNan Housing Ventures.