Ottawa building affordable housing on former Kapyong Barracks land it still owns

The former Kapyong Barracks site — known as Naawi-Oodena — has been identified as one of the locations where the federal government plans to build thousands of affordable housing units under its newly created Build Canada Homes agency.

Winnipeg is among six cities — alongside Ottawa, Toronto, Edmonton, Dartmouth, N.S., and Longueuil, Que. — where federal land will be used to “supercharge” construction, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced.

Canada Lands Company, a federal Crown corporation, has 32 per cent of the 160-acre property, abandoned in 2004, which runs on the west side of Kenaston Boulevard between Grant and Taylor avenues and a portion of the east side, as well.

The remaining 111 acres, or 68 per cent of the site, was repatriated by a consortium of seven First Nations. Following a 2019 land transfer agreement, the group formally established Naawi-Oodena as Canada’s largest urban reserve in 2022.

“If we can work together to expand housing in Canada, that’s great news,” Premier Wab Kinew said at an unrelated event Thursday. “We’ve got a growing economy, and this one cuts both ways… the real estate market here is very hot, which is good news for the economy and not so good news if you’re trying to buy a house right now.

“So let’s keep building our economy and make sure we’re adding housing.”

Kinew didn’t know how many homes would be built at the site, but said the need is huge.

“If the federal government can help add according to need, that’s going to really help Manitoba’s economy grow, but also keep things affordable for the future home owner,” he said.

Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham said the chosen site from the federal government is a good one because it’s a blank canvas, but reiterated the need for housing across the city.

“It’s not just one location where we need it,” he said.

“We’ve talked about that consistently. We are working as a city to partner with the province of Manitoba on getting housing built. That’s in a hearing, so that’s all I’ll say about that.”

Gillingham said the city has used most of the $122.4 million in funding from the federal Housing Accelerator Fund, which was announced in 2023 with annual $30.6-million installments, as long as the city reached certain targets.

Under the agreement, the city must support the creation of 14,101 housing units by 2027, including at least 931 designated as affordable. In the first year, Winnipeg’s target was 3,733 permits, but the city exceeded that goal with approvals for more than 4,300 units.

“But we need more (housing) right now,” Gillingham said. “We need more housing built across the city.”

In a release, Carney said the Build Canada Homes agency will transform the way government works with the private sector to build. The agency has been allocated $13 billion to accelerate the construction of affordable homes as the country grapples with a deepening housing crisis.

“We will create an entirely new housing industry using Canadian technology, Canadian workers and Canadian resources — and give builders the tools they need to build more, build sustainably and build at scale,” he said.

Construction on the first units is expected to begin next year.

Build Canada Homes defines “affordable housing” according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.’s standard: housing that costs less than 30 per cent of a household’s pre-tax income.

In addition, the agency will manage a $1-billion fund for transitional housing projects designed to support people at risk of homelessness.

Build Canada Homes will serve as the federal government’s lead agency on affordable housing initiatives.

— with files from Joyanne Pursaga

scott.billeck@freepress.mb.ca