A budget of $724.1 million is available for a comprehensive Violence Prevention Strategy to expand culturally relevant supports for Indigenous:

• Women and their children
• 2SLGBTQQIA+ people facing gender-based violence

The strategy supports new shelters and transitional (second-stage) housing across Canada for:

• First Nations
• Inuit
• Métis

CMHC will allocate $420 million over 5 years to support the construction of new shelters and transitional housing.

Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) will invest $304.1 million over five years, and $96.6 million annually to:

• support the operational costs of new shelters and transition homes
• expand funding for culturally-relevant violence prevention activities. For information on funding for these activities, please visit the website for Family Violence Prevention Program (sac-isc.gc.ca)

This is a step towards the Government of Canada’s Federal Pathway to Address Violence Against Indigenous Women, Girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ People.

It responds to the Calls for Justice (4.7 and 16.19) in the Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. It does so by developing and funding shelters and transitional housing for those escaping gender-based violence, including Indigenous:

• Women and their children
• 2SLGBTQQIA+ people

In In January 2021, the Government of Canada announced a commitment to fund the construction and ongoing operation of new Inuit-specific shelters for:

• Women and their children
• 2SLGBTQQIA+ people

The shelters will be located across Inuit Nunangat and in urban centres. Funding for the new Inuit specific shelters is part of the comprehensive Violence Prevention Strategy announced in the 2020 Fall Economic Statement. For Inuit shelters, information, a guide and an application are available on Pauktuutit's website.

CMHC and Indigenous Services Canada continue to work with Pauktuutit and Inuit partners to roll out this initiative.

Indigenous organizations and governments across Canada are eligible to apply.

Funding for this initiative will flow over 5 years starting in 2021-22. The allocation of funds is a contribution for up to 100% of eligible capital costs to use for:

• new construction, or
• conversion from a non-residential use to shelter or transitional housing

CMHC will provide funding based on maximum costs of:

• $7.2 million per facility in Territories and Inuit Nunangat
• $3.48 million per facility in Provinces across the country

It is expected that proponents with projects surpassing the maximum costs of construction will have financial capacity or partners to bring equity into the project to cover additional budget.

Applicants must provide a construction budget that is specific to their proposed facility.

Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) will provide:

• An average annual allocation of $1 million to operate shelters in Territories and Inuit Nunangat
• An average annual allocation of $800,000 to operate shelters in Provinces across the country
• An average annual allocation of $500,000 for transitional housing across the country

We anticipate that budgets for transitional housing may incorporate some rent geared-to-income from clients as part of its operational budget.

Applicants must provide an annual operational budget that is specific to their proposed facility.

We understand that community needs and approaches are diverse. Applicants are encouraged to design services and/or support programming that best meet the unique cultural needs of their communities.

1. Please consult the Application Guide (PDF). The guide contains:

• overview of the mandatory requirements
• information about the online application process, including capital costs and the operating budget

2. Complete the Mandatory Application Worksheet (PDF)

• The Evaluation Criteria (PDF) can help you complete this form.

3. Complete the Integrity Declaration Form (PDF)

4. Upload your application, mandatory application worksheet and the integrity declaration form to the attachments section of your application

Note: If you have internet connection issues, an offline PDF application can be made available upon request. Please contact an Indigenous and the North Housing Solutions Specialist to request an application.

The application process is ongoing. We’ll select eligible applications in phases, twice a year at a minimum.

• The first review phase was conducted from March 7 to May 31, 2022
• The second review phase will be conducted from September 12 to November 30, 2022
• The third review phase will begin January 30, 2023.

CMHC and Indigenous Services Canada sought input from Indigenous organizations and subject matter experts to form committees and develop the evaluation process and the selection of projects.

Selection committees evaluating eligible applications include representatives from:

• CMHC
• Indigenous Services Canada
• First Nations organizations
• Inuit organizations
• Métis organizations
• Indigenous 2SLGBTQQIA+
• Indigenous urban communities
• subject matter experts
• persons with lived experience of shelter and/or transitional housing needs

The Evaluation Criteria (PDF) is used to apply a consistent evaluation approach to determine a pool of projects considered for funding.

Selection committees are responsible to ensure the funding goes to at least:

• 38 shelters
• 50 transitional homes

This funding initiative extends the work and support started with the 2020 Shelter Initiative for Indigenous Women and Children.

Thank you to all applicants for submitting their proposals to the second review phase that ended in December 2022, and resulted in the selection of seven (7) proposals to receive funding for construction and ongoing operational support.

Projects are selected by an Indigenous-led committee comprised of representatives from CMHC, ISC, organizations representing First Nations, Métis, Indigenous 2SLGBTQQIA+ and urban communities as well as subject matter experts and people with lived experience of shelter and/or transitional housing needs.

Applications for Inuit-specific shelter and transitional housing projects are reviewed by an Inuit-led committee. To this date, the committee approved four (3) projects .

Since the launch of this initiative, twenty-two (22) projects have been selected: eleven (11) shelters, ten (10) transitional housing projects, and one (1) mixed used project. These shelters and transition homes will provide Indigenous women, children and 2SLGBTQQIA+ survivors of gender-based violence a vital refuge and culturally appropriate supports and services.

Application intake is ongoing, and we encourage all applicants to submit their project at any time during the year. Reviews of applications and subsequent discussions with proponents are key to ensure projects are eligible and adequate information is provided to cover all areas reviewed by the committee. Information on the evaluation criteria is available below under the Resources tab.

During 2023, all applications will be reviewed on an ongoing basis as they are submitted. Emphasis will be placed on a call for projects supporting Indigenous urban and 2SLGBTQQIA+ populations as well as Métis and Inuit, with selected projects selected throughout the year. Selected projects on reserves will be announced at the beginning of 2024.

Application Documentation

• Highlight Sheet (PDF)
• Guide (PDF)
• Evaluation Criteria (PDF)
• Mandatory Application Worksheet (PDF)
• Application Q&A (PDF)

Indigenous and Northern Housing Solutions Specialists
Questions can be sent directly to your Indigenous and the North Housing Solutions Specialist.

Research and reports on shelters and second-stage housing

• Surviving abuse and building resilience: A study of Canada’s systems of shelters and transition houses serving women and children affected by violence – 2019
• More than a bed: A national profile of violence against women shelters and transition houses (study by the Women’s Shelters Canada – 2019 – PDF)
• Breaking the cycle of abuse and closing the housing gap: Second stage shelters in Canada (study by the Women’s Shelters Canada – 2020 – in PDF)
• Transitioning to a life free of violence: Second stage shelters in Canada (study by the Women’s Shelters Canada – 2019 – in PDF)
• Study of gender-based violence and shelter service needs across Inuit Nunangat (study by Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada – 2019 – in PDF)
• Addressing gendered violence against Inuit women: A review of police policies and practices in Inuit Nunangat (study by Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada and Dr. Elizabeth Comack – 2020 – in PDF)

If you aren’t eligible under this initiative or you intend to repair an existing shelter or transitional unit for women and children, you can look at:

• Women And Children Shelter And Transitional Housing Initiative
  $250 million to construct, renovate, and support housing for women and their children fleeing domestic violence.
• Overview of funding options for shelters and transitional housing (PDF)