Rural housing

Everyone deserves a safe and affordable place to call home. That is why the Government of Canada is taking strong action to make housing more affordable and accessible for all Canadians, including those in rural, remote, northern and Indigenous communities.

Rural Canadians continue to experience challenges when it comes to housing access and affordability. For example, there is often limited rental housing in rural areas, which limits housing options for seasonal workers and newcomers. Compared to urban markets, rural housing markets tend to be less dynamic, with fewer incentives for developers, and are therefore more vulnerable to economic instability.

National Housing Strategy

The Government of Canada launched the $55 billion National Housing Strategy to improve housing affordability for Canadians. It aims to:

  • reduce or eliminate housing needs for at least 530,000 households
  • create 125,000 new affordable housing units
  • repair and renew more than 300,000 affordable units
  • reduce by 50% the number of chronically homeless shelter users
  • ultimately change the face of housing in Canada

The objective of the National Housing Strategy is to address the housing security needs of Canadians, including rural Canadians, with an emphasis on the most vulnerable populations, such as seniors, Indigenous peoples, and women and children fleeing domestic violence.

Learn more about the National Housing Strategy and its impact.

Housing Accelerator Fund

The newly launched Housing Accelerator Fund provides incentive funding to local governments. The funding is meant to remove barriers and support the development of affordable, inclusive, equitable and climate-resilient communities.

Applicants to the Fund’s Small/Rural/North/Indigenous Stream must meet one of these requirements:

  • have a population under 10,000 in any Canadian province
  • be in a territory
  • be an Indigenous government

If approved, participants can use incentive funding for investments in Housing Accelerator Fund action plans, affordable housing, housing-related infrastructure or community-related infrastructure that supports housing.

Learn more about or apply to the Housing Accelerator Fund: Small/Rural/North/Indigenous Stream.

National Housing Co-Investment Fund

The National Housing Co-Investment Fund (NHCF), a flagship initiative delivered by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, provides low-cost loans and contributions to help build and renew affordable housing that meets the needs of Canadians. The NHCF helps smaller communities by offering flexibility to address the unique challenges faced by rural housing providers and covers a broad range of housing needs, from shelters to affordable home ownership. It prioritizes projects that support partnerships between governments, non-profits, private sector organizations and others to make federal investments go further.

Learn more about the National Housing Co-Investment Fund and its impact.

Rental Construction Financing Initiative

The Rental Construction Financing Initiative provides low-cost loans to encourage the construction of rental housing across Canada.

Learn more about the Rental Construction Financing Initiative and its impact.

First-Time Home Buyer Incentive

The First-Time Home Buyer Incentive aims to help first-time homebuyers across Canada, without adding to their financial burden. Participants must meet minimum insured mortgage down-payment requirements.

Learn more about the First-Time Home Buyer Incentive.

Housing Supply Challenge

The Housing Supply Challenge, a $300 million initiative, invites municipalities and other stakeholder groups across Canada to propose new approaches to meet local needs. It provides resources for developing new solutions that will enhance housing supply and a platform to share these models with other communities across Canada.

Learn more about the Housing Supply Challenge and its impact.