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Alberta’s NDP commits to building 8,500 more affordable housing units

‘Social policy is good economic policy’ say NDP
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FILE - The Alberta NDP announced its affordable housing strategy Every Albertan Deserves a Home, on April 12, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito

If elected Alberta’s NDP will make sure 40,000 more Albertans have safe, affordable housing within five years.

The NDP’s affordable housing strategy would provide more than 8,500 affordable housing units and increase rental assistance to support 11,000 more households.

The plan calls for $1.6 billion in provincial capital funding, leveraging up to $3 billion total in capital funding from all levels of government and housing providers.

NDP seniors and housing critic Lori Sigurdson said Alberta’s affordable housing sits at 2.9 per cent compared to the provincial average of 4.3 per cent.

She said the UCP government only supported 58,000 housing units in 2021-22, while there were nearly 66,000 provincially supported affordable homes under the NDP in 2018-19.

“The UCP’s lack of investment in affordable housing has increased homelessness and social disorder and has cost taxpayers more than they have saved,” Sigurdson said during the announcement.

“Every Albertan deserves a safe and affordable place to call home. It benefits the whole community. It saves in health care costs and decreases crime, the situation we face currently.”

The strategy includes investing $120 million into the Indigenous Housing Capital Program to support Indigenous led projects and affordable housing solutions, creating a rent bank to protect people from sudden evictions, reforming income support for stable housing, and supportive services.

Related:

Red Deer city council takes steps to encourage creation of more affordable housing

Sigurdson said the NDP would work with rural and urban housing management bodies across the province.

Red Deer’s Community Housing & Homelessness Integration Plan from 2019 showed the city needed 1,300 affordable rental housing units requiring deep subsidy, 1,000 affordable rental housing units (10 per cent below market), 1,500 deep subsidy rent supplements, 600 low subsidy rent supplements, 150 affordable home ownership grants, and 250 home ownership maintenance supports.

More than 70 permanent supportive housing units and acute medical respite for people with complex health conditions were also needed.

The city says economic inflation is causing more residents to access emergency housing supports for the first time, so the 2019 targets are likely conservative estimates today.

Related:

Red Deer’s homeless population jumped by nearly 140 per cent in five years

Ian Wheeliker, Red Deer Outreach Centre executive director, said right now the federal and provincial government have an agreement to build more housing, but there’s no money to provide support services.

“What we’d like to see is the development of a stock increase, significantly, and the funding for supports that help keep the people in their houses,” said Wheeliker whose agency is part of Red Deer’s housing team, along with Safe Harbour Society, Canadian Mental Health Association, and Red Deer Native Friendship Society, that helps people find housing.

The centre also runs the 10-suite Julietta’s Place to provide transitional and supportive housing for women and children fleeing domestic violence.



szielinski@reddeeradvocate.com

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