Mayor Scott Gillingham (FILE)
WINNIPEG — The federal government is providing $122 million to the City of Winnipeg to create new housing.
The funding was announced Wednesday and will fast-track the construction of 3,100 new housing units over the next three years, including more than 900 affordable housing units.
Funds will flow through the Housing Accelerator Fund to support seven specific housing initiatives intended to modernize zoning rules, increase density near major transit and transportation routes, and incentivize more housing construction.
“This is a huge investment in building more homes, and especially more affordable homes, for our growing city,” said Mayor Scott Gillingham.
“Together, we’re creating the Winnipeg of the future — a thriving community where everyone has access to a home they can afford. This is key to making sure we remain one of the most liveable cities in Canada.”
The city will set up a land enhancement office to foster affordable and mixed-income housing on city-owned land, introducing a concierge service to streamline affordable housing requests and approvals. Additionally, there’s a push to digitize processes for faster development and approvals, along with an infrastructure support program to boost local area servicing and residential development.
The funding is still $70 million short of the city’s original request to Ottawa.
The HAF aims to create 250,000 new homes across Canada over the next decade.
