Canada providing affordable housing for Veterans in Edmonton

Edmonton, Alberta, November 25, 2021

Every Canadian deserves a safe and affordable place to call home. Thanks to investments made by the Government of Canada, veterans of Edmonton will soon have access to new affordable housing options.

Today, the Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Housing and Diversity and Inclusion celebrated the grand opening of a 20-unit tiny home village for Veterans. The federal government provided $1M in funding through the Affordable Housing Innovation Fund (AHIF).

The project, titled Edmonton Veterans’ Village, is developed by Homes for Heroes Foundation, a charity developed in response to the growing number of Canada’s veterans who are facing crisis as they return to civilian life, and often find themselves at risk of homelessness.

The village is offering Canadian veterans affordable and innovative homes as they transition back to civilian life. These “tiny” homes are arranged in an inward-facing, “barracks format” to facilitate peer-to-peer support. The village will also incorporate a community garden, as well as a central resource centre and counselling office, which will provide full service, wrap-around programs that will deliver the resources, training and counselling necessary to ensure each individuals’ success in their transition to civilian life. Each home will be under 300 square feet in size, but fully equipped with all the features of a larger home.

Quotes:

“Every Canadian deserves a safe and affordable place to call home. Our government is taking action, through innovative and unique projects like this one, to increase the supply of affordable rental housing. Edmonton Veterans’ Village will be able to provide the veteran community of Edmonton with the access to the housing and services they deserve. This is the National Housing Strategy at work.”
— The Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Housing and Diversity and Inclusion

“Our Government is taking steps, right now, to ensure that every Canadian has a safe and affordable place to call home, including our veteran population. Our investments will go a long way to support our veterans who need it most by quickly providing new affordable housing units to those experiencing, or at risk of homelessness. Our Government’s plan under the National Housing Strategy continues to provide housing for Canadians from coast to coast to coast, including in right here in Edmonton.”
— The Honourable Randy Boissonnault, Member of Parliament for Edmonton Centre, Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance

“We at Homes For Heroes would like to thank Minister Hussen and the Government of Canada for their major support to this project. We couldn’t be more pleased that the Affordable Housing Innovation Fund has chosen to endorse our innovative approach of using Villages of “tiny homes” to house homeless Veterans during their transition back to civilian life. Having completed the construction of the Edmonton Veterans’ Village, starting on December 1st we will now begin the important work of assisting those who stood on guard for us, but now need our assistance. This Village will provide over 7,000 bed-nights per year for homeless Veterans, and will expand the pool of affordable housing within the City of Edmonton.”
— Cameron Diggon, Vice President and Director of Fund Development, Homes For Heroes Foundation

Quick facts:

Housing will be transitional, with an average residency time of 2 years for each veteran. Over the 20-year period of the initial lease, Edmonton Veterans’ Village expects to house about 200 veterans.
The Government of Canada’s funding for this project is funded through the National Housing Strategy’s AHIF, a $208 million dollar fund announced in September 2016, designed to create up to 4,000 new affordable housing units over five years to reduce the number of Canadians living in housing need.
Budget 2021 proposes to provide an additional $600 million over seven years, starting in 2021-22, to renew and expand the Affordable Housing Innovation Fund, which encourages new funding models and innovative building techniques in the affordable housing sector.
Canada's National Housing Strategy (NHS) is a 10-year, $72+ billion plan that will give more Canadians a place to call home.

Associated links:

As Canada's authority on housing, CMHC contributes to the stability of the housing market and financial system, provides support for Canadians in housing need, and offers unbiased housing research and advice to all levels of Canadian government, consumers and the housing industry. CMHC’s aim is that by 2030, everyone in Canada has a home they can afford, and that meets their needs. For more information, please visit cmhc.ca or follow us on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn and Facebook.

To find out more about the National Housing Strategy, visit www.placetocallhome.ca.