Question Period Note: Northern Housing and Infrastructure

• The Government recognizes the challenges faced by Canada’s northern communities in accessing safe, adequate and affordable housing.

• Through Budgets 2021 and 2022, our government has provided $200 million to Canada’s territorial governments to respond to their critical housing and infrastructure needs.

• Furthermore, through Budgets 2021 and 2022, we are investing an additional $52 million over seven years to support First Nation communities off-reserve in the Northwest Territories, as well as Métis communities in the Northwest Territories to address their housing and infrastructure needs.

• This flexible funding will allow our northern and Indigenous territorial partners to continue to advance the most pressing housing and infrastructure needs.

N/A

If pressed on additional infrastructure and housing funding

• Budget 2022 invested an additional $4 billion over seven years to accelerate work in closing housing gaps:
o $2.4 billion over five years for First Nations housing on reserves;
o $565 million over five years for housing in Self-Governing and Modern Treaty Holders communities;
o $845 million over seven years for housing in Inuit communities;
o $190 million over seven years for housing in Métis communities.

• The funding so far has supported over 13,000 home improvement and repairs projects, and more than 4,600 new homes in Indigenous communities.

• Our government will continue to advance solutions in response to the critical housing and infrastructure needs of northerners.

If pressed on the Urban, Rural and Northern Indigenous Housing Strategy

• Budget 2022 provided $300 million to support housing in urban, rural, and northern Indigenous communities.

• Budget 2023 is proposing to build on this initial work with a significant investment of $4 billion over seven years, starting in 2024-25, to implement an Urban, Rural, and Northern Indigenous Housing Strategy, currently under co-development with Indigenous partners.