Analysis finds N.W.T. needs to build thousands of homes by 2044
CBC
The N.W.T. needs up to 2,700 homes just to meet current demand, and it must build thousands more to replace aging dwellings, according to the government's first comprehensive analysis of housing needs in 26 years.
The report gives the government the evidence it needs to attract federal money through the Build Canada Homes fund to build homes for northerners, said Housing Minister Lucy Kuptana.
In 2024, more than a third of N.W.T. households were unaffordable, needed major repairs or were overcrowded, the report said.
Much of the territory's housing infrastructure is reaching the end of its lifespan, said report author Chris Van Dyke, Housing N.W.T.'s manager of community housing and planning.
To meet future demand, the territory needs 1,030 more homes in the next 20 years. In all, the report estimates the territory must add 2,500 homes by 2044.
A majority of N.W.T. households are considered to be in core housing need, said Van Dyke.
The Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation classifies a unit or home as in "core housing need" when it is unaffordable, doesn’t have enough bedrooms or needs major repairs, and when there is no alternative housing within the community.
Indigenous people make up 50 per cent of households studied. Indigenous households are overrepresented in core housing need and make up 71 per cent of people living in substandard dwellings, the report said.
Single mothers make up 30 per cent of households in core need.
The housing needs assessment report is not a plan, but it will be used to guide the government’s approach to improving the state of housing, said Van Dyke.
Van Dyke told reporters at a news conference on Wednesday that new builds dropped off considerably in the early 90s.
The N.W.T. saw more homes built from 1981 to 1990 than any other decade. More than half of the territory's homes are more than 35 years old, contributing to the number of aging dwellings, the report said.
Presently, there are 427 homes nearing the end of their lifespans. In two decades, the government expects 1,000 more homes will need to be replaced, said Van Dyke.
Housing N.W.T. president Erin Kelly said $150 million in territorial funding will be spent over three years on unit repairs and replacements.
The billionaire U.S. owners of the busiest land border crossing in North America turned to a high-powered lobbying firm run by former top aides to Prime Minister Stephen Harper in recent years, records show.
Students across the province are protesting recent changes to the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) — the post-secondary financial aid system will go from a majority grant structure to a majority loan structure in the new school year.
A program at the University of Prince Edward Island that trains future French teachers once struggled to find students, but it's now seeing more interest than ever.
All school purpose vehicles outside of London, Ont. are cancelled Wednesday morning due to a thick blanket of fog causing poor visibility on the roads.
Gas prices in the Greater Toronto Area jumped six cents on Wednesday, with experts warning more increases are expected in the days ahead due to the U.S. and Israel-Iran war.
Albertans listening to the U.S. president’s state of the union address last week may have experienced a sense of deja vu when it came to Donald Trump’s plans for AI data centres: “We’re telling the major tech companies that they have the obligation to provide for their own power needs.”
A prominent labour organization in Newfoundland and Labrador that was pushing hard for topsides construction contracts on the Bay du Nord production vessel says a plan to invest in a massive floating dry dock will more than offset the loss of any work on the topsides.
Some Iranians in Sudbury, Ont., say they are ecstatic about recent attacks from the United States and Israel against Iran.
A Nova Scotia family is speaking out after two masked intruders entered a Halifax-area high school and violently attacked a Grade 9 student, prompting concerns about school safety and security.
Keith Hoyt’s cows used to be the neighbourhood celebrities.
It is a bluebird morning at Mont Tremblant ski resort, with the white peaks reaching into a clear sky.
The man responsible for the 2018 Humboldt Broncos bus crash could be deported to India within weeks, leaving behind his wife and two children, who are pleading with Canada to let him stay.
Delays and closures, including the cancellation of several families of schools, are in effect across parts of P.E.I. Wednesday morning after an overnight snowfall on the Island.