The City of Fredericton is making rapid progress creating greater access to housing with a suite of targeted municipal programs supported by an agreement with the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF).
The fund is supporting a new First-Time Homebuyers Grant Program, aimed at addressing the need for affordable home ownership. The program will provide five eligible first-time home buyers with a grant of up to $20,000 toward the construction of homes on a limited number of serviced, city-supplied lots on DeMerchant Drive. Applications are now open for this program, with information, eligibility criteria and forms available online.
The City is also now on track to meet housing targets just halfway through the fund’s three-year mandate, committing $4.8 million of the total $5.1 million received to date, supporting the creation of 286 housing units.
“Fredericton’s private and not-for-profit development community continue to respond to the City’s rapid growth with unprecedented levels of construction.” said Mayor Kate Rogers. “I am particularly encouraged that so many of the affordable housing units have been proposed by the not-for-profit and co-operative housing organizations as we have made considerable efforts to support those working in this sector. These soon to be built homes will provide stable and secure housing for all Frederictonians including seniors, young families, and newcomers.”
Fredericton continues to be one of Canada’s fastest growing cities. The most recent Statistics Canada population estimates indicate that the City’s population increased by more than 3,000 people in one year and more than 14,000 people since 2020. Housing providers have responded by building more than 4,000 new homes in the same period.
The federal funding has allowed for mixed-use development on City-owned land, offered incentive programs promoting increased rental housing supply, supported affordable homeownership, encouraged the use of modular construction and provided support to community housing providers to enhance their capacity to building more affordable housing.
“Everyone deserves a place to call home. I am proud of how this funding is supporting essential access to affordable housing for residents,” said David Myles, MP for Fredericton-Oromocto. “I see the impact of the rising cost of housing in our growing community, and I am pleased with how Mayor and Council have responded quickly with housing programs that deliver real results for the people of Fredericton.”
This work is made possible by Fredericton’s responsive and adaptable not-for-profit and private sector development community. Many of the units are already under construction with others in the planning stages with the final plans expected to be submitted in the near future.
In December 2023, the City of Fredericton entered into an agreement with the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) to receive $10.3 million in funding through the Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF). The City committed to delivering eight ambitious initiatives aligned with its Affordable Housing Strategy. They include:
• construction of rental housing
• use of modular and manufactured housing construction
• creation of opportunities for affordable home ownership
• programs to support the non-profit and co-operative housing sector; and
• facilitation of development on City owned land.
To learn more about the City of Fredericton’s housing strategies and programs visit City's website.