Calgary breaks ground on first project through Indigenous Housing Program

Calgary is putting forward tens of millions of dollars to support a 60-unit build by the Calgary Indigenous Housing Program.

The first new build through Calgary’s Maa’too’maa’taapii Aoko’iyii’piaya, its Indigenous housing program, will be a 60-unit project in Erin Woods.

The southeast housing project will provide non-market housing for Siksika Nation members to live off-reserve.

“We want to be able to give our people a place where they can raise their children in a safe environment that they can afford and they don’t have to worry so much about the struggles of life,” said Samuel Crowfoot, Siksika Nation chief.

“As we know, life is hard. We want to be able to help give them some peace of mind (about) some of the most basic areas of our needs.”

It’s coming together in part due to $4.5 million in capital funding through the federal government Housing Accelerator Fund and a further $4.3 million in capital funding from the city.

The Erin Woods project is the first of 24 projects awarded funding to provide nearly 380 homes for Indigenous members.

“Three per cent of Calgarians are Indigenous. Meanwhile, upwards of 40 per cent of our homeless population are Indigenous,” said Reid Hendry, the city’s chief housing officer.

“Housing’s a basic need for anybody, for everybody, and we know that across Canada, even across the world, housing is a need that’s getting harder and harder to fill. Affordable housing is needed,” added Crowfoot.

Construction work will ramp up later this summer, with people anticipated to move into the Erin Woods project in early 2028.