{"id":541804,"date":"2026-03-17T06:58:53","date_gmt":"2026-03-17T06:58:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/541804\/"},"modified":"2026-03-17T06:58:53","modified_gmt":"2026-03-17T06:58:53","slug":"city-of-calgary-awards-millions-to-fund-indigenous-housing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/541804\/","title":{"rendered":"City of Calgary awards millions to fund Indigenous housing"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hundreds of Calgary urban Indigenous citizens will soon have homes with two dozen projects in the works to provide much-needed housing support in the city. <\/p>\n

The City of Calgary announced $33 million to support 24 projects led by 16 Indigenous nations and organizations, all awarded through the Maa\u2019too\u2019maa\u2019taapii Aoko\u2019iyii\u2019piaya initiative. It\u2019s expected that 379 non-market homes will be created. <\/p>\n

It is the largest investment the city has made toward Indigenous-led housing to date, with funding being spread across planning, construction and land purchases.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is something that as a city we\u2019re enabling,\u201d Deputy Mayor and Ward 8 Coun. Nathan Schmidt said, speaking on behalf of Mayor Jeromy Farkas.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut we are giving it back to our Indigenous partners, who will be able to make this program work in a way that creates results for our Indigenous community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maa\u2019too\u2019maa\u2019taapii Aoko\u2019iyii\u2019piaya, which means \u2018Indigenous First Nation Housing\u2019 in Blackfoot, was announced last August under the Home is Here housing strategy.\u00a0 Included among the 98 recommendations is to address long-standing systemic barriers that Indigenous Calgarians face when finding housing.<\/p>\n

The initiative\u2019s \u2018For Indigenous, By Indigenous\u2019 framework is a first for Calgary\u2019s housing strategy, with community leaders and Elders helping guide decisions about funding and design.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor a long time, our people have been left out of decisions about housing for our own families and communities,\u201d Elder Jackie Bromley said, who sits on the Housing Solutions Elders Advisory Committee.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is why this work matters.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fifteen projects will receive $2.25 million to increase the capacity of Indigenous non-profits and lay the groundwork for future housing. Organizations receiving this funding include the Aboriginal Friendship Centre, the Blackfoot Confederacy Tribal Council, M\u00e9tis Calgary Family Services and the Elizabeth Fry Society, which had two projects funded.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Five projects will receive $20.2 million to build 147 non-market housing units. The Aboriginal Friendship Centre and M\u00e9tis Calgary Family Services both had two projects funded.<\/p>\n

The remaining $10.6 million will go towards securing land to build an additional 232 non-market homes. These funds will go to the Aboriginal Friendship Centre, Blackfoot Confederacy Tribal Council, M\u00e9tis Capital Housing Corporation (Otipemisiwak Metis Government) and the Urban Society for Aboriginal Youth.<\/p>\n

City officials focused on a bigger reconciliation picture<\/p>\n

Calgary\u2019s Chief Housing Officer, Reid Hendry, emphasized that this funding goes beyond housing.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese efforts are not just about meeting housing needs,\u201d Hendry said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are about restoring balance, amplifying Indigenous voices, and walking the path forward together.\u201d<\/p>\n

When originally announced, the City of Calgary had only pledged $30 million towards Maa\u2019too\u2019maa\u2019taapii Aoko\u2019iyii\u2019piaya. After municipal budget adjustments this past November, the city was able to commit another $3 million. The hope is that there is more to come in the future.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis should just be the beginning of what we\u2019re doing,\u201d Schmidt said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot more that needs to be done, and we will only succeed through continuing these partnerships, through listening and turning reconciliation from words into actions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hendry said five physical buildings will begin construction soon, but couldn\u2019t go into details due to ongoing land negotiations.<\/p>\n

The projects range significantly in scale, from developments with as few as two units to larger buildings with nearly 100 units. Housing types will vary as well, including studio apartments, multi-bedroom units for families and one single-family detached home \u2013 a rarity in affordable housing according to Hendry.<\/p>\n

Many of the developments will also incorporate cultural gathering spaces intended to support ceremonies, learning and community connection, furthering that this is an initiative beyond housing.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing able to create housing opportunities for homes to develop and flourish is more than just checking off a box on a list of needs,\u201d Chief Samuel Crowfoot of the Siksika Nation said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s about cultural survival.\u201d<\/p>\n

Liked it? Take a second to support Payton Delisle-Miller on Patreon!<\/p>\n

\"Become<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Hundreds of Calgary urban Indigenous citizens will soon have homes with two dozen projects in the works to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":541805,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194293],"tags":[49,2798,48,60,4520,32918],"class_list":["post-541804","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-calgary","tag-ca","tag-calgary","tag-canada","tag-featured","tag-housing","tag-indigenous"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/541804","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=541804"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/541804\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/541805"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=541804"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=541804"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=541804"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}