Ontario Construction News staff writer
The federal government says it will invest $171 million in the construction of 400 rental units in Ottawa. This funding will be delivered through the Apartment Construction Loan Program (ACLP), which is part of the government’s National Housing Strategy (NHS).
“The ACLP is a critical part of the National Housing Strategy,” Sean Fraser, minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities, said in a statement last Thursday (June 14). “We are helping to get more rental apartments built so that Canadians are able to find a place of their own.”
“Apartment rentals provide good, safe and stable homes for millions of hard-working middle-class Canadians and their families,” said Jenna Sudds, minister of Families, Children and Social Development and MP for Kanata-Carleton.
“We’re making it easier, cheaper, and faster to build more rentals in our communities so more Canadians have a place to call home. Today’s announcement marks another step in our work to end Canada’s housing crisis once and for all,” she said at a press conference at a six-storey mixed-use project under construction at 180 Kanata Dr.
The ACLP is a fully repayable low-interest loan program that provides incentives to developers and builders to construct more rental apartments. The program is designed to encourage the construction of more homes that meet the needs of middle-class Canadians and families.
The federal government expects that the ACLP will help to create more than 131,000 new rental homes across Canada by 2031. This investment is critical to addressing the housing crisis and ensuring that Canadians have access to safe, stable, and affordable housing.
The government also announced that it is providing an additional $15 billion in top-up funding to the ACLP. This will allow the construction of a minimum of 30,000 new rental apartments, bringing the total federal investment in the ACLP to $55 billion. The government says it is committed to supporting the creation of more rental units and helping Canadians in need to access affordable housing.