CANADA-ALBERTA AGREEMENT BOOSTS AFFORDABLE HOUSING FUNDING

June 25, 2009

The Honourable Jim Prentice, Minister of the Environment, joins The Honourable Yvonne Fritz, Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs sign an amendment to the Canada-Alberta Affordable Housing Program Agreement and announced $386 million over the next two years in Alberta.

Calgary, AB – June 25, 2009 - The Government of Canada and the Government of Alberta are partnering on a joint investment to build new and renovate existing affordable housing.  This investment will help create jobs, strengthen the economy, and improve the quality of life for residents of Alberta.

Both levels of government officially signed an amendment to the Canada-Alberta Affordable Housing Program Agreement and announced $386 million over the next two years in Alberta.

The Honourable Jim Prentice, Minister of the Environment, on behalf of the Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development Canada and Minister Responsible for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), joined the Honourable Yvonne Fritz, Alberta Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs, at a signing ceremony today.

“The Government of Canada continues to work hard to support Canadians during these challenging economic times, and has moved aggressively to ensure Canada’s Economic Action Plan is implemented rapidly,” said Minister Prentice. “We are helping the most vulnerable, including seniors and persons with disabilities, access suitable, affordable housing, as well as making needed renovations to existing social housing both in Alberta and across Canada.”

“This strong partnership between the governments of Alberta and Canada will strengthen the economy, create jobs and help low to moderate income people across the province,” said Minister Fritz. “The additional investment in Alberta’s social housing portfolio means we will be able to expand upon planned maintenance and provide upgraded homes for families in need.”  

Today’s announcement includes federal funding of $95 million over two years under Canada’s Economic Action Plan as part of a one-time investment of more than $2 billion to build new and renovate existing social housing in Canada. The Alberta Government is also contributing $95 million for these initiatives, over the next two years.

These investments build upon the $1.9 billion commitment for housing and homelessness programs announced by the Government of Canada in September 2008, which extended the Affordable Housing Initiative (AHI) and the renovation programs for low-income households for two years.  Today’s announcement includes a combined investment of $48 million by both levels of government for the two-year extension of the AHI to build new affordable housing.  The province is also contributing $132 million for affordable housing purposes over the next two years. Today’s announcement also includes more than $16 million in federal funding to assist low-income households with needed renovations to their homes.

Overall, the federal contribution is $135 million, while the province is contributing a further $251 million from its Capital Plan, for a combined investment of $386 million.

Today’s announcement was held at Alice Bissett Place, celebrating the official opening of a new 114-unit affordable housing project for seniors, individuals and persons with special needs.

Located at 2990 – 17 Street SE, the project received a total of $6.1 million in federal funding under the Canada-Alberta Affordable Housing Initiative and $100,000 in Proposal Development Funding, for a total of $6.2 million to off-set project costs. The project also received approximately $6.1 million from the Province of Alberta.

CMHC has been Canada’s national housing agency for more than 60 years. CMHC is committed to helping Canadians access a wide choice of quality, affordable homes and making vibrant and sustainable communities and cities a reality across the country.

To find out more about how the Government of Canada and CMHC are working to build stronger homes and communities for all Canadians, call CMHC at 1-800-668-2642 or visit www.cmhc.ca/housingactionplan. For more information on Canada’s Economic Action Plan, call 1-800-O Canada or visit www.actionplan.gc.ca.

Alberta Housing and Urban Affairs aims to create more than 11,000 affordable housing units in Alberta by 2012 and in March, released Canada’s first provincial strategy to end homelessness. 

For more information on Alberta’s housing initiatives, visit www.housing.alberta.ca.

 

Tim Richter, Monte Kendall, Kim O'Brien, The Honourable Jim Prentice, The Honourable Yvonne Fritz.

 

Dr. Neil Brown, MLA, The Honourable Jim Prentice, The Honourable Yvonne Fritz.