A housing needs assessment study for the City of Moncton has been unveiled with key findings such as the need to increase affordable housing options and the need to increase the supply for low-income and moderate-income households.

At Monday’s regular council meeting, city council had a chance to examine this update from a previous assessment completed in 2017.

Since then, the City of Moncton and the census metropolitan area (CMA) have had one of the highest growth rates in Canada and Moncton is recognized as an economic driver for New Brunswick.

The goal of the assessment was to identify housing requirements in Moncton based on current housing supply and demand and estimate future needs.

Three housing gaps were also identified in the study:

• Gap 1: There is a need to continue to diversify the housing stock, particularly to include more smaller dwelling types suitable for seniors (aged 65+ years) to age in appropriate homes as well as larger sized dwellings to accommodate larger households (e.g., immigrants) to settle in Moncton.
• Gap 2: There is a need to increase the stock of purpose-built rental housing in the primary rental market in Moncton.
• Gap 3: There is a need to increase the supply of accessible and supportive housing options for households with a disability or mental health issues by collaborating with the Province of New Brunswick and local stakeholders.

SHS Consulting prepared the report and senior consultant Dalton Wudrich was asked by council what the city needs to do to stimulate the housing sector.

“As long as Moncton is providing a permissive environment around zoning and costs associated with infrastructure – development charges or infrastructure charges – then development will go forward when it makes sense to the development industry.”

Wudrich noted developers are running businesses and will build when they can make money.

Mayor Dawn Arnold said housing has become a nationwide issue which she suggested may need a massive wartime effort.

“If we remember after the Second World War, there were many war homes that were built. It was just accepted that everybody should and could have a safe place to live. And I think we need to get back to that as a society.”

To align with the release of Statistics Canada data, the City of Moncton intends to conduct a comprehensive review of its housing needs assessment every five years.