City announces $15M for downtown student housing

(Galen McDougall/CTV News Edmonton)

Student housing in the downtown core of Edmonton is getting $15 million.

Mayor Amarjeet Sohi announced the investment on Wednesday afternoon at NorQuest College. The money comes from Canada’s Housing Accelerator Fund.

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Earlier this year, the federal government granted Edmonton an additional $17 million through the fund on top of the $175 million the city got in 2024.

Of that additional money, $15 million will go towards the student population of almost 47,000 downtown in ensuring that they have better housing options. Sohi told CTV News Edmonton they planned on creating a “diversity of housing options” depending on the assessment of each project.

Sohi added that building timelines are strict, and building permits need to be in place by November 2026. Applications are currently open and the first round closes in September.

Abdul Abbasi, vice president of the University of Alberta Students’ Union, told CTV News Edmonton that the funding was something students are “really excited to see” as post-secondary education seems to have become a “privilege instead of a right” in some people’s eyes.

“Housing has been a big issue and a big stressor for students that we have been hearing from for several years,” he said.

“This is a good first step … we’re hoping to push the federal government for funding like this across the country, with more funding coming through … for cities and non-profits,” Abbasi said. “Of course, a lot more is needed.”

CEO of BILD Edmonton Kalen Anderson told CTV News Edmonton the development industry is “very keen” on helping revitalize the downtown core.

“In particular to add the type of buildings and spaces and places that will attract more people to live here permanently,” she said.

While she said she can’t estimate how many employees will be brought in for development projects yet, Anderson did say the economic growth that comes hand-in-hand with post-secondary and building growth will be “wonderful.”

“This is all coming together to deliver what I think will be a pretty spectacular outcome for our post-secondaries, for our city and their policies and goals and for the downtown itself to thrive,” Anderson said.

She noted that while the rest of Edmonton was seeing a building boom, viable downtown projects have been a long time coming.

“There’s nothing like a bit of pressure put on everyone to get things rolling.”

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Galen McDougall