Trudeau announces $9.18M for housing in Saint John

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was in Saint John, N.B., Wednesday to announce the federal government has reached an agreement with the city to fast track 285 new housing units over the next three years.

Under the Housing Accelerator Fund, this agreement will provide $9.18 million to help meet the housing demand in Saint John.

“We’ve worked very, very hard with the City of Saint John to come to an ambitious proposal that’s going to increase densification, that’s going to accelerate the processes in terms of building more houses more quickly,” said Trudeau at a news conference in Saint John.

“They are looking at freeing up public land for housing, they are looking at all the different things that are going to, not just make individual projects happen, but change the way all housing is built in this community and, by extension, right across the country.”

Trudeau said the federal government signed housing accelerator deals with cities that were willing to be “bold and ambitious about meeting the growth that Canadians want and need.”

“It’s about building a better country for everyone, in which people can have that building block and that pathway towards greater and greater success by having a secure and affordable place to live,” said Trudeau.

MP Wayne Long and Saint John Mayor Donna Reardon joined the prime minister at the announcement.

As a city, Reardon said Saint John is dedicated to accelerating the development of affordable housing.

“It‘s a pivotal moment for Saint John as we collaborate with the federal government on the housing accelerator fund,” said Reardon.

“As a small city with a big heart, we have to be bold and we want to grow.”

As part of the agreement, Saint John will:

• cut red tape, reduce requirements, and accelerate approval timelines for missing-middle units
• work to reform its zoning bylaw approvals, use public and underutilized lands for housing development
• implement a new permitting system
• work with non-profit and private home builders to coordinate, fund, and develop affordable housing projects

For more New Brunswick news visit our dedicated provincial page.