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.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Ukraine now has long-range missiles and Russia rewrote its nuclear policy. Are we on the verge of atomic warfare?
The four-year-old document has a bland, bureaucratic title — 'Basic Principles of State Policy on Nuclear Deterrence' — but its contents are chilling, especially with its newest revisions.
NDP MP calls on Boissonnault to resign over false claims to Indigenous identity
A Métis member of Parliament is calling on the employment minister to resign over what he calls harmful false claims to Indigenous ancestry.
Trump chooses TV doctor Mehmet Oz to lead Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday tapped Dr. Mehmet Oz, a former television talk show host and heart surgeon, to head the agency that oversees health insurance programs for millions of older, poor and disabled Americans.
'I'm just tickled pink': Two childhood friends from New Brunswick named Rhodes Scholars
Two young women from New Brunswick have won one of the most prestigious and sought-after academic honours in the world.
Swiftie's friendship bracelet beads confiscated at Calgary airport
A Canadian Taylor Swift fan has some 'Bad Blood' with the Calgary International Airport after security staff confiscated hundreds of dollars worth of beads she was going to use to make friendship bracelets.
Anonymous male celebrity files extortion lawsuit against attorney representing Sean 'Diddy' Combs accusers
An anonymous male celebrity says he is the victim of an extortion scheme and is suing a high-powered Texas attorney who is representing several people in civil lawsuits that accuse Sean “Diddy” Combs of sexual assault.
Woman charged after Ontario toddler dies from drug toxicity
A 40-year-old woman is facing charges in the death of a toddler who was found without vital signs in a Niagara Falls, Ont., home last year. Niagara regional police say officers found the two-year-old child after they were called to a home on Nov. 21, 2023.
Watch Cruise ship tilts, causing panic as 'Titanic' song plays
Cruise ship passengers got a scare when their vessel tilted sideways, with one man saying the theme song for the film 'Titanic' had played during the ordeal.
What three storms impacting the country have in common
A trifecta of storm systems is impacting Canada this week. A 'bomb' cyclone is bringing severe wind to coastal B.C, while a Texas low has triggered snow and winter storm warnings in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. On the east coast, a stalled area of low pressure has put Atlantic Canada into several days of cloudy, damp, and windy weather.