The City of Grande Prairie has been informed that its application to the Government of Canada's Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF) has not been successful.

HAF is a national funding program aimed at helping municipalities address housing supply problems.

Mayor Jackie Clayton expressed the City's regret, stating, "We were hopeful that the Federal Government would support our efforts to increase housing options in Grande Prairie. Access to affordable and expanded housing is significantly interconnected with other community issues, such as labour shortages, recruitment and retention, economic growth and diversity. Equally concerning is our rental sector, where residents are currently challenged by a lack of housing, as our vacancy rate sits at about 1.0 per cent. This shortage persistently challenges us as multifamily housing starts are failing to keep pace with local demand. The reality is that we urgently need housing support, and the Federal Government failed to recognize this."

The City's application outlined several initiatives to incentivize the development of over 300 new housing units, including updating area redevelopment plans, zoning to promote missing middle housing forms, incentivizing priority housing developments, and managing the land reserve in support of affordable housing.

“While we are extremely disappointed by this outcome, we remain committed to finding innovative solutions to support our housing needs. As a follow-up to this decision, City administration has requested a debrief with HAF representatives to learn more and gain information concerning future funding opportunities,” said Mayor Clayton.

Information provided by the City of Grande Prairie

  • In response to Canada's Online News Act and Meta (Facebook and Instagram) removing access to local news from their platforms, ReachFM.ca encourages you to get your news directly from your trusted source by bookmarking this page and downloading the Reach FM app at https://www.reachfm.ca/app