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

• 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.
• In June 2023, the Government announced that a portion of
this funding will be used to help address the immediate need
for safe and affordable housing for Indigenous peoples in
urban, rural and northern areas, and will be delivered by the
National Indigenous Collaborative Housing Incorporated.
• Budget 2023 announced an additional $4 billion over seven
years, starting in 2024-25, for the implementation of the codeveloped
the Strategy.

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. On March 7, 2023, National Indigenous Collaborative Housing Incorporated, the
operational arm of the National Urban, Rural, and Northern Indigenous Housing Coalition,
submitted a business case to administer the $281.5 million. The business case proposed an
Indigenous-led application intake process to allocate funding in a manner that is equitable,
accessible, and transparent. Following approval from Treasury Board Secretariat, the National
Indigenous Collaborative Housing Incorporated (NICHI) was granted permission to deliver the
$281.5 million in funding to meet urgent and unmet urban, rural and northern Indigenous
housing needs, with an additional $5.6 million over two years to support their operational needs.
On June 8, 2023, this funding and delivery approach was publicly announced by Minister Hajdu,
Minister Ahmed Hussen and Minister Vandal and counterparts from the National Indigenous
Collaborative Housing Incorporated. In support of this work, a contribution agreement for
operational funding and a work plan has been developed with the National Indigenous
Collaborative Housing Incorporated. An expression of need process is expected to launch on
November 24, 2023. The National Indigenous Collaborative Housing Incorporated has been
completing a series of Webinars to inform organizations of the application process and
timelines.
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
• Indigenous Peoples living in urban, rural, and northern areas
face urgent and significant housing needs.
• Supporting Indigenous-led solutions is key to ensuring that
urgent housing needs are addressed.
• Taking a for Indigenous By Indigenous approach, the National
Indigenous Collaborative Housing Incorporated will deliver the
immediate funding of $281.5 million on behalf of the Government
, through an open and transparent expression of need process,
with decisions made by an Indigenous Selection Advisory
Council.
• All Indigenous organizations will be encouraged to work with the
National Indigenous Collaborative Housing Incorporated, to
ensure that the application process is fair, transparent,
regionally representative and considers First Nation, Inuit, and
Métis urban, rural, and northern housing priorities and projects. If pressed on the Urban, Rural, and Northern Indigenous Housing Strategy
• The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation on behalf of the
Government of Canada and in collaboration with Indigenous
partners, concluded a 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.
• CMHC is helping the Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and
Communities to fulfill the mandate letter commitment to codevelop
the Strategy and to create the first ever National
Indigenous Housing Centre.
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.
• In June 2023, ISC announced that the National Indigenous
Housing Incorporated will deliver $287.1 million in funding to
address the critical need for safe and affordable housing for
Indigenous Peoples in urban, rural and northern areas.
• The National Indigenous Collaborative Housing Incorporated will
deliver this funding through an expression of need process.