Question Period Note: Urban, Rural and Northern Indigenous Housing Strategy

We recognize that access to safe and affordable housing
remains critical to improving health and social outcomes for
Indigenous communities.
• Budget 2022 committed $300 million, to co-develop and
launch an Urban, Rural, and Northern Indigenous Housing
Strategy.
• Budget 2023 announced an additional $4 billion over seven
years, starting in 2024-25, for the implementation of this codeveloped
housing strategy.
• The Government of Canada will be exploring longer-term,
sustainable approaches to meet the longstanding housing
gaps that exist in Indigenous communities.

Budget 2022 proposes to invest $300 million over five years, starting in 2022-23, through the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation to co-develop and launch an Urban, Rural, and
Northern Indigenous Housing Strategy.
The November 13, 2022 letter to the Prime Minister granted Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) the authority to deliver $281.5 million of funding announced in Budget 2022 to address
immediate urgent and unmet urban, rural and northern Indigenous housing needs. Initially, ISC intended to deliver the funding through an open and transparent call for proposal process. ISC was to seek advice on funding from Indigenous partners through a planned Interim Technical Indigenous Advisory Committee. On November 14, 2022, invitation letters were sent to Indigenous housing organizations and National Indigenous Organizations to seek their
participation in the advisory committee.
On November 25, 2022, at an urban, rural and northern Indigenous housing event, the National Urban, Rural, and Northern Indigenous Housing Coalition issued a formal statement that outlined their intent to form a For Indigenous By Indigenous housing entity that would seek to deliver urban, rural, and northern Indigenous housing funding on behalf of the Government of Canada.
Since December 2022, ISC has been working to support National Indigenous Collaborative Housing Incorporated to develop and refine a business case for consideration to deliver immediate housing funding of $281.5 million. The remaining balance of $18.5 million announced in Budget 2022 has been allocated to the Canada Housing and Mortgage Corporation to support the co-development of an Urban, Rural and Northern Indigenous Housing Strategy.
Budget 2023 proposed to support the implementation of the Urban, Rural, and Northern Indigenous Housing Strategy through an investment of $4 billion over seven years, starting in
2024-25.

If pressed on Urgent and Unmet Urban, Rural and Northern
Indigenous Housing Needs
• Our Government recognizes that Indigenous Peoples living in
urban, rural, and northern areas face significant housing needs
and that there is an urgent need to act now.
• Indigenous Services Canada is working in collaboration with
Indigenous partners to determine the most effective way to
deliver immediate housing funding to Indigenous housing
organizations and partners.
• Our Government knows that supporting Indigenous-led
solutions is key to ensuring that urgent and unmet urban, rural,
and northern Indigenous housing needs are addressed.
Si l’on insiste sur « Besoins urgents et non satisfaits en matière
de logement des Autochtones en milieu urbain, rural et nordique »

If pressed on the Urban, Rural, and Northern Indigenous Housing
Strategy
• Improving the quality, supply and affordability of housing for
Indigenous Peoples living in urban, rural and northern areas is a
priority for the Government of Canada.
• The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation on behalf of the
Government of Canada and in collaboration with Indigenous
partners, is completing public engagement on the codevelopment
of an Urban, Rural and Northern Indigenous
Housing Strategy.
• This Strategy is intended to complement the three existing
distinctions-based housing strategies for First Nations, Inuit and
Métis, as well as other investments in Indigenous housing.

If pressed on the National Indigenous Collaborative Housing
Incorporated
• The National Indigenous Collaborative Housing Incorporated in
December 2022, is a newly formed For Indigenous By
Indigenous housing entity consisting of over 20 housing
providers from across the country.
• Since December 2022, Indigenous Services Canada has been
discussing with National Indigenous Collaborative Housing
Incorporated the role they might play in the delivery of
immediate housing funding of $281.5 million.