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Targets and Outcomes

New Brunswick and The National Housing Strategy

Background

New Brunswick's progress and contributions to achieve the National Housing Strategy's 4 targets and 9 shared outcomes can be seen through the province's initiatives to provide affordable and adequate housing.  

National Housing Strategy's Targets and Outcomes

The Canada Mortgage and Housing Commission has set 4 targets and 9 outcomes to measure the improvements in Canada's aim to provide more affordable and acceptable housing as part of the country's National Housing Strategy.

The 4 National Housing Targets:

  • cutting chronic homelessness by 50%

  • removing 530,000 families from housing need

  • renovating and modernizing 300,000 homes

  • building 160,000 new homes

NHS's 9 Shared Outcomes:

  • Homelessness is reduced year-over-year

  • Housing is affordable and in good condition

  • Affordable housing promotes social and economic inclusion for individuals and families

  • Housing outcomes in Canada’s territories are improved year-over-year

  • The housing needs of Indigenous groups are identified and improved

  • Affordable housing contributes to environmental sustainability

  • The National Housing Strategy contributes to Canadian economic growth

  • Partnerships are built, strengthened, and mobilized to achieve better outcomes

  • Collaboration/alignment across the federal government results in more holistic responses to housing issues

Source: CMHC Guide Page

Acceptable Housing in New Brunswick

While a large majority of the population is already living in acceptable housing, 19.5% of the total provincial population is still living in non-acceptable housing, with renter households being the most affected.

Owner households' shelter-cost-to-income ratios are often higher than renter households, which makes renter households susceptible to living in inadequate housing situations.

Homeless Shelter Capacity

While homeless shelters are not considered as housing, it is important to analyze the increases in homeless shelter capacity in the province. The increase in the number of shelters and beds shows how the province is taking the initiative in providing a temporary safe place for the homeless. However, it also shows the lack of affordable and adequate housing being provided in the province.

Persons in Core Housing Need

CMHC defines core housing need as "... a 2-stage indicator, which helps to identify households living in dwellings considered unsuitable, inadequate or unaffordable." 

 

The number of people in core housing needs in New Brunswick is generally high, with only a low percentage of the population living in inadequate and unaffordable housing conditions. However, from 2018 to 2021, there was only a small visible increase in the percentage of New Brunswickers removed from core housing need.

Progress on the Housing Affordability in New Brunswick

Housing affordability is one of the crucial aspects of the National Housing Strategy's targets and outcomes. This section looks at the economic progress of New Brunswick's aim to reduce housing and living costs.

Credits to Miguel Angel Sanz from Unsplash

What is shelter-cost-to-income ratio?

According to the CMHC, the shelter-cost-to-income ratio is "...calculated for each household individually by dividing its total annual shelter cost by its total annual income." People are considered to be in acceptable housing if a household is spending less than 30% of their income on shelter costs.

Shelter-cost-to-income ratio in New Brunswick

Looking at the province's shelter-cost-to-income ratio is an important aspect of looking at New Brunswick's progress on housing affordability. According to the 2021 Census, the majority of New Brunswickers who own homes are spending only a minimum percentage of their income on shelter needs.

 

However, renter households have more people spending 30% or more of their income on shelter costs than owner household ones, which means more renter households are spending most of their income on basic housing needs than owner households.

Shelter-cost-to-income ratio by visible minorities and immigrants

5.8% of the population in New Brunswick consists of immigrants, with 23.3% of the population in the provinces being indigenous peoples. A large percentage of visible minority and immigrant households are considered to be living in acceptable and adequate housing, spending less than 30% of their income on housing costs, with only a few still considered to be in core housing need.

New Brunswick's Actions on Providing Affordable Housing 

Credits to DenisTangneyJr from iStock

Programs and Initiatives

The Government of New Brunswick has been partnering up with the Federal and Municipal governments to create programs and initiatives that will help reduce homelessness and provide affordable housing in the province 

Provincial Initiatives and Fundings

According to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation's March 2023 Progress Report, The government of Canada has bilateral agreements with all 13 Provinces and Territories, including New Brunswick, representing over $15.2 billion in joint funding over 10 years. 

New Brunswick has a joint investment of $397.5 million with the Federal Government

List of some housing funding programs in New Brunswick in partnership with the Federal Government:

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According to the 2019-2029 New Brunswick Housing Strategy, three of its main targets are to:

  • 922 units to help individuals, families, and seniors in housing need.

  • 300 additional housing options for the homeless.

  • 40 additional second and third-stage housing units for victims of intimate partner/family violence.

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New Brunswick Housing Strategy:
Housing for All

New Brunswick's Minister of Social Development and Housing has updated the province's housing strategy, further expanding on the targets and solutions being offered by the provincial government to achieve the goal of providing acceptable and adequate housing for New Brunswickers.

NB Housing Strategy's 4 key housing targets

  • Increase housing starts with a target of 6,000 per year.

  • Have no more than 15 percent of New Brunswick households spend more than 30 percent of their income on shelter costs.

  • Create conditions to hold annual rent increases at an average of 2.5 percent and the percentage change in average home prices to 4.8 percent.

  • Decrease the number of households in need of subsidized housing to 7,500 by 2026 from the current waiting list of more than 11,000.

NB Housing Strategy Rent Bank

According to the NB Housing Strategy, the ​new Rent Bank program aims to support New Brunswick's struggling renter households through short-term loans to low-income households to avoid evictions. An amount of $3 million has been allocated for the program over the next 2 years.

Current Progress:

  • According to the NB Housing Strategy Report, the province experienced record development with 4,680 new starts in 2022. A 22% increase in development should be done to achieve the annual goal of building 6,000 housing units.

  • Currently, the New Brunswick and CMHC’s National Housing Co-Investment Fund have built or renovated 342 housing units, with 73 more housing units under construction.

  • According to the 2021 shelter-cost-to-income ratio data from Statistics Canada, 13% of New Brunswick's households are spending 30% or more of their income on housing costs, which is 2% away from the 15% cap of the NB Housing Strategy. 

  • Affordable rental units under $750 have been declining by approximately 15-25% every 5 years, with the average rent cost being $1,074, which is approximately a 30% increase. The rent bank could help struggling renter households, however, there is a need for rent price reduction and for the creation of more affordable housing units in New Brunswick.

Source: New Brunswick Housing Strategy: Housing for All (2023)

The Green Municipal Fund created the Sustainable Affordable Housing Initiative (SAH) to further invest in constructing at least 100 housing units while aiming for energy efficiency and the reduction of carbon emissions in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.

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The 3 main SAH projects in New Brunswick:

  • Bath Non-Profit Housing Inc., Village of Bath, New Brunswick: $20,000

  • Belleterre Community Partners Inc. and the City of Miramichi, New Brunswick: $22,400 

  • Project Village Housing Inc., Village of Blacks Harbour, New Brunswick: $25,000

Environmental
Sustainability

Municipal Homelessness Plans

According to the Homeless Hub, 4 municipalities around New Brunswick have worked on homelessness plans in partnership with the provincial government.

Credits to  Nathalie Sturgeon / Global News

Fredericton

  • Population: 108,610 (2021 Census) 

  • In 2023, with 196 people experiencing homelessness, only 90 beds are available, which only houses 45-50% of the said number of homeless people

  • According to the Fredericton Homelessness Plan, a total budget of $3,465,000 provided by the New Brunswick government and the United Way of Fredericton has been allocated for the improvement of affordable housing in the city. The said budget will be  equally divided per year (2019-2024)

Saint John

  • Population: 130,613 (2021 Census)

  • The municipality of Saint John has put in place the Coordinated Access System as part of the city's initiative to reduce chronic homelessness by 50% over ten years.

  • The Saint John Homelessness Plan stated that as part of the Housing First investment targets, Saint John has initiated the Reaching Home funding dedicated to tackling homelessness in the city.

  • Reaching Home Annual Allocation 

    •  ​2019-2020: $502,782  

    • 2020-2021: $490,282  

    • 2021-2022: $538,857  

    • 2022-2023: $532,707  

    • 2023-2024: $532,707

  • Funding from different departments of the provincial government are also being provided as shown in the graph. 

Bathurst

  • Population: 31, 387 (2021 Census)

  • According to the Bathurst Homelessness Plan, the municipality has been working on the Reaching Home funding stream for the designated City of Bathurst, focusing largely on the Bathurst Emergency Shelter. The allocation of the funding is as follows:

    • 2019-2020: $241,920.00

    • 2020-2021: $231,920.00

    • 2021-2022: $243,843.00

    • 2020-2023: $239,343.00

    • 2023-2024: $239,343.00

  • Other projected funding from the ​provincial government and non-governmental organizations are listed in the graph.

Moncton

  • Population: 157,717 (2021 Census)

  • The Municipality of Moncton is working along with the Designated Communities and Indigenous Homelessness streams to provide funding for tackling homelessness in the city. The Reaching Home's annual allocation is as follows:

  • 2019-2020: $551,928
    2020-2021: $539,428
    2021-2022: $595,150
    2022-2023: $589,000
    2023-2024: $589,000

Other Sources on New Brunswick's NHS Progress:

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