Canada to fund 117 new homes for Indigenous communities in Saskatchewan

Nine Indigenous communities in Saskatchewan’s north will receive 117 new homes.

On Thursday, the federal government announced over $22.9 million in Rapid Housing Initiative (RHI) funding to support 117 new homes for Indigenous Peoples throughout the Province of Saskatchewan.

“No relationship is more important to our government than the one with Indigenous Peoples. These new homes in Saskatoon and across Saskatchewan will ensure families have access to safe, affordable housing in their own communities,” said Sean Fraser, minister of housing, infrastructure and communities.

“These projects not only deliver more housing opportunities, but they also support the social and economic well-being of the entire community.”

The Onion Lake Cree Nation will receive over $9 million for 45 new homes in two projects. The Clearwater Dene Nation (CRDN) will receive over $1.4 million in funding for 20 new single-family homes designated for women, children and seniors.

“This is very welcoming news to us…. I sure hope that the federal government will continue looking at this program and not just for us, but for other First Nations that are still having a lot of issues of housing,” CRDN Chief Teddy Clark said. “Housing has always been a big issue for everybody. It’s always been one of the one of my priorities…. We have a lot of overcrowding.”

Statistics Canada says on its website that “over one in five First Nations people (21.4 per cent, or 224,280 people) lived in crowded housing in 2021, with 12.9 per cent living in housing with a one-bedroom shortfall, 4.8 per cent living in housing with a two-bedroom shortfall and 3.8 per cent living in housing with a shortfall of three or more bedrooms.”

“Overall, the share of First Nations people living in crowded housing declined by 1.2 percentage points from 2016.”

The $22.9 million in funding will go to:

• Onion Lake Cree Nation: $9,413,985 for 45 new homes (20 mobile home units and 25 single-family homes).
• Denare Beach: $771,728 for three new mobile home units.
• Deschambeault Lake: $2,438,937 for 10 new mobile home units.
• Muskeg Lake Cree Nation: $302,286 for four units in a four-plex.
• Pelican Narrows: $3,601,395 for 14 mobile home units.
• Sandy Bay: $2,315,183 for nine mobile home units.
• Southend: $1,914,719 for nine mobile home units.
• Sturgeon Landing: $771,728 for three mobile home units.

2:35 2021 Census highlights problems with housing for Indigenous people