Calgary announces $30M for Indigenous affordable housing project

CBC

2 hours ago

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For the first time, the City of Calgary is launching an Indigenous-led affordable housing project to provide homes for Indigenous people in the city — and it is contributing $30 million to make it happen.
Maa'too'maa'taapii Aoko'iyii'piaya, the Blackfoot name for the program, aims to create between 150 and 300 units in what the city calls a "historic investment."
Elder Jackie Bromley of Kainai Nation is on the advisory committee, and gifted the name to the program. She called the initiative a symbol of reconciliation in action.
"Maa'too'maa'taapii Aoko'iyii'piaya is more than a program. It is a promise," said Bromley. "It is a recognition that Indigenous nations and communities hold the knowledge, the vision and the strength to build homes that honour who we are."
"Too often, decisions were made for us, not with us. This program changes that story," she said.
Systemic barriers to housing
The city says Indigenous people are disproportionately affected by homelessness, making up 41 per cent of the homeless population despite representing only three per cent of Calgary's total population. In the city, 3,800 Indigenous households are currently struggling to afford and keep their housing.
Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek was on hand to launch the program Tuesday. She said Indigenous people continue to face systemic barriers when it comes to finding a place to call home.
"We have heard that there is discrimination when looking for a home to rent; there is exclusion from culturally safe housing; and there are systemic inequities that perpetuate harm and that keeps intergenerational trauma going, and that keeps families in crisis," Gondek said.
The team lead for the city's Indigenous Housing Program, Samantha Efthimiou, said the term "culturally safe" refers to the space and freedom to carry out traditional Indigenous practices, "places where we can smudge without being judged, where we can do ceremony without having questions asked, without being asked permission to have a naming ceremony in our complex."
Applications open next week
The program is open to all Treaty 7 First Nations, the Otipemisiwak Métis Government Districts 5 & 6 and Indigenous non-profits in Calgary.
Organizations chosen for the program can receive up to $150,000 over two years for planning and engagement.
The remainder of the $30 million will cover up to 40 per cent of eligible capital costs for the building and construction of the affordable units. Operational costs will not be covered.
Those interested can submit funding proposals starting Aug. 25, the same day the city will host a virtual information session.
As for a timeline on when the first units could be complete and ready for move-in, the city said that will depend on the project type, but it anticipates the earliest could be the start of 2027. Gondek pointed to the use of modular builds as a way to expedite the process.
She said she hopes in the future, the program can grow to create more units than currently planned.
"It seems like a small number when you look at the crisis, but for every single person that we can house, that matters. That is a life that has changed," said Gondek.