Nicole Goldsworthy, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, SASKTODAY.ca
The City of Humboldt council has authorized its administration to apply for the Housing Accelerator Fund, an initiative by the federal government. HAF is administered through CHMC to get more housing built across Canada.
This grant program is different from other grant programs insofar as the funding to municipalities appears to be entirely based upon the number of residential building permits issued from late 2023, 2024, 2025 and up to approximately September 2026.
The City of Humboldt’s council has noted that the calculation of funding is based upon the “growth” in approved residential construction for new builds over and above past actuals. Due to the fact that the city anticipates a significant local demand for housing over the next few years, the City of Humboldt is well-positioned to benefit from the parameters of this program.
The Housing Accelerator Fund is an application-based program with one application window in 2023. The program was introduced in the 2022 federal budget with a funding allocation of $4 billion until 2026-27.
The program aims to bring about significant change in local government’s control over land use planning and development approvals. The objective of the fund us to speed up the housing supply in Canada, resulting in at least 100,000 additional permitted housing units compared to without the program. The goal is to support lasting changes that will improve housing supply for the years to come says the Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Housing and Diversity and Inclusion.
This grant encourages initiatives that increase housing supply and promote the development of affordable, inclusive and diverse communities that are low-carbon and climate-resilient.
The Housing Accelerator Fund provides incentive funding to local governments encouraging initiatives aimed at increasing housing supply. It also supports the development of complete, low-carbon and climate-resilient communities that are affordable, inclusive, equitable and diverse.
