“We are in a housing crisis. All Albertans deserve a safe, secure, affordable, accessible home; it’s essential to human dignity and wellbeing. Through innovative and collaborative partnerships; we can leave this crisis behind by investing in co-op housing, permanent supportive accommodations, seniors’ lodges and housing for multi-generational families.”
A Home for Everyone
Cap Rent Increases
“Hundreds of thousands of people can’t afford their rent and risk being evicted. By introducing rent control, tenants will no longer need to brace for surprise rent hikes. This will help more people and families stay in their apartments and communities without constantly fearing they’ll need to move - yet again.”
Incentives to get the Job Done
“Building Alberta’s future together - today. The real estate sector is a vital partner in our province’s housing landscape. By offering low-cost and no-cost loans to developers who help achieve our housing targets and incentivizing municipalities to rezone for greater density, we can work together to help make the dreams of home ownership a reality.”
A Home for Everyone
Increased access to dignified quality, accessible, culturally-appropriate, affordable housing throughout the province
- Build more public, co-op and non-profit housing that meet accessibility needs while avoiding urban sprawl.
- Invest directly in the construction and rehabilitation of non-market social housing with wrap-around mental health and social supports where required. Advocates recommend a budget of roughly $600m a year over the next ten years. This funding would go to not-for-profits, public housing management bodies, and co-ops
- Restructured funding formulas for public housing to allow for adaptations to accommodate large and multi-generational families. Large families spend a long time on waiting lists, causing negative repercussions, especially for children
- Ensure long-term, sustainable funding for repairs, renovations and maintenance of public housing, including Alberta’s seniors’ lodges
- Build more on-campus housing
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Re-establishing a Ministry of Housing to work with all levels of government on ending the housing crisis
- Urging the federal government to properly fund Indigenous housing - on reserves, on settlements, and in communities throughout Alberta
- Advocate for more federal funding investments to support housing for new Canadians
Supporting the housing needs of Albertans in rural communities
- Stronger role for Housing Management Bodies
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More affordable housing for essential service providers in smaller communities and seasonal workers in Alberta’s tourist destinations
Partnerships with non-profit organizations to ensure our housing strategy meets the needs of people and families from Alberta’s diverse, cultural communities - More accessible housing and accommodations supports for people with unique needs and sustainable funding for repairs, renovations and maintenance of public housing, including Alberta’s seniors’ lodges
Partnerships with non-profit organizations to ensure our housing strategy meets the needs of people and families from Alberta’s diverse, cultural communities
More accessible housing and accommodations supports for people with unique needs and sustainable funding for repairs, renovations and maintenance of public housing, including Alberta’s seniors’ lodges
Cap Rent Increases
- Rent increases capped at two per cent annually for two years
- Rent increases can be no more than inflation following the two-year cap
- Rent control will put the power back into the hands of people paying their rent, not the companies collecting it
- Rent control will make housing more affordable for newcomers to Canada, for single parents, for post-secondary students
- Caps on rent will help increase access to affordable accommodations for seasonal workers in Alberta’s tourist destinations and essential service providers in rural communities
- Rent control is one strategy to help end the ‘financialization’ of housing
Incentives to get the Job Done
- Low-cost and no-cost loans to developers who ensure one-third of their units are non-market affordable housing or permanent supportive housing, one-third are below market and no more than one-third are at market
- Incentivize municipalities to reduce permitting timelines and bring in zoning that promotes density. Set housing targets for municipalities and provide incentives to hit those targets
- Make public land available for housing through repurposing underused municipal, provincial, and federal land, including former school sites, and underused commercial sites. Transfer ownership of this land to the re-established Ministry of Housing that will coordinate its use and make it available to Housing Management Bodies, co-ops, and not-for-profits
- Build at speed by encouraging innovations in homebuilding, including factory-built housing by working with Alberta’s post-secondary institutions and providing incentives to companies who will manufacture advance modular housing, low carbon concrete and other techniques that achieve scale, drive down costs, lower carbon footprints and increase climate resilience.
- Use innovative ways of financing affordable housing by, for example, encouraging foundations and pension funds looking for philanthropic options for investment and using the principles of halal financing which is based on equity and shared risk, to provide funding for new developments.