In Antigonish, the Government of Canada, the Municipality of the County of Antigonish, and the Town announced agreements to expedite the construction of 93 homes in three years and over 270 homes in a decade.

Through the Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF), over $3.2 million will be allocated to remove barriers to housing construction.

The Municipality of the County of Antigonish plans to utilize $1.9 million to support various initiatives, including leveraging municipal assets for housing, improving permit approvals, and expanding services to aid affordable housing.

The Town of Antigonish will receive $1.3 million to implement measures such as zoning changes, incentive grants for affordable housing, and an e-permitting system. Antigonish Mayor Laurie Boucher said, “This funding will allow us to modernize our processes that will lay the groundwork for sustainable growth and development in the Town,”.

We are thrilled to receive this funding through the HAF program. This funding will allow us to better support housing and development initiatives to meet the needs of our community. With the funding, we aim to expand municipal infrastructure to support housing growth, modernize the permitting process, conduct source water planning and protection, and create a non-profit affordable housing grant program to support organizations who are working to create affordable housing in the municipality.

-Owen McCarron, Warden of the Municipality of the County of Antigonish

The HAF which is supporting programs across Canada aims to fast-track 100,000 permitted new homes in three years, potentially creating 750,000 homes over a decade across Canada.