City confirms no funding from Housing Accelerator Fund
The City of Medicine Hat’s application to the Government of Canada’s Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF) has been denied. The HAF is a $4 billion federal funding program administered by Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation for municipalities to incentivize the implementation of local initiatives that remove barriers and accelerate the growth of housing supply.
Medicine Hat – The City of Medicine Hat’s application to the Government of Canada’s Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF) has been denied.
The HAF is a $4 billion federal funding program administered by Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation for municipalities to incentivize the implementation of local initiatives that remove barriers and accelerate the growth of housing supply. The City applied to the program in the summer of 2023, identifying nine local initiatives to encourage more housing supply over the short and long term. No feedback was provided as to why the application was denied.
The City’s application to the HAF included an action plan that described nine initiatives intended to create an environment ideal for housing development, including but not limited to streamlining of permitting and applications processes, pre-approved designs to reduce costs and timelines for developers, and refining current City of Medicine Hat incentives. Grant funding from the program would have been used to facilitate additional housing projects by addressing some of the challenges faced by our local building community.
“We will be regrouping to see how we can still look to implement some of the objectives identified in our application to ease our housing shortage,” says Pat Bohan, Managing Director of Development and Infrastructure. “Without these grant funds, we’ll need to carefully plan and manage expectations around timelines, and be innovative in our approach.”
Through the regular course of business, the City will continue to seek relevant grant funding opportunities.
“We’ll be watching closely for grant opportunities to support these initiatives,” added Bohan. “We know this is a growing challenge in our community, and we are committed to be an active partner in finding solutions.”
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