Advancing Housing in Calgary
All Calgarians deserve a safe and affordable place to call home Advancing Housing in Calgary
Calgary is Canada's housing engine, yet we are still facing a widening housing supply gap. To make meaningful change, we requireincreased collaboration from government and market partners to address the needs of everyday Calgarians.
Housing is a human right
Housing is essential for our health and wellbeing. When people have adequate, safe and secure housing they are more likely to remain employed,support the economy and be active members of society. Access to adequate, safe and secure housing - including support services in some cases - can also help prevent homelessness and position Calgary to be a city of choice to live, work, and play.
Preparing for 2 million
Calgary’s population is growing rapidly. At the same time, housing affordability has declined. To ensure Calgary remains affordable, we must do more to increase market and non-market housing stock.
Population Boom: Calgary’s population grew by 83,000 in 2023 and by 91,600 in 2024. That’s the equivalent of the population of Kelowna moving to Calgary in just two years.
Housing need in Calgary: One in five households in Calgary need non-market housing as they make less than 65% of Calgarians median income and spend more the 30% of their income on housing.
Shortage of affordable housing stock: Currently, 3% of the housing stock in Calgary is non-market. This is far below the number of households needing these homes and far below the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) average of 7%.
More homes needed: According to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), Calgary would need to build 9,000 additional housing units annually over the next decade to achieve pre-pandemic affordability.
Long waitlists: As of June 2025, Calgary Housing had 7,635 households on its waitlist for deeply subsidized social housing. That’s just one of many non-market housing providers in Calgary.
Innovation & Leadership
First-in for funding and land
We recognize that if one level of government can provide funding or land, a non-market housing project is more likely to receive additional funding.
The City leads through investing in housing projects first and reducing the risk of a project not being successful. By providing funding through The City’s Housing Capital Initiative and Housing Incentive Program, as well as below market cost land through The City’s and Non-Market Land Sale programs, The City helps other levels of government be confident that a non-market housing project will be successful.
For Indigenous, By Indigenous
In response to the critical need for Indigenous-led affordable housing in Calgary, Maa’too’maa’taapii Aoko’iyii’piaya was developed. The program is grounded in the principle of “For Indigenous, By Indigenous”, ensuring that housing created through this initiative reflects Indigenous ways of knowing, relationships, and governance. This innovative program offers 40% of project funding, further empowering Indigenous groups to build housing.
Building more non-market units faster with government support
Opportunity 1: Improve flexibility and certainty by funding housing portfolios, not just housing projects
Applying for funding on a project-by-project basis limits non-market housing providers' certainty and ability to scale up development. Portfolio funding for high-volume, proven developers will enable them to build more efficiently, capture emerging opportunities, and solidify a pipeline of projects.
Opportunity 2: Align funding conditions with other levels of government
Some funding conditions (e.g., unit mix, affordability definitions) conflict with other funders’ conditions. This can result in expensive redesigns or workarounds that add time and cost.
Opportunity 3: Commit enhanced funding to Indigenous housing
Addressing the effects of colonization and supporting the disproportionate number of Indigenous people who need housing is critical to address housing inequities. This requires each level of government to commit funding to Indigenous housing providers to provide culturally safe affordable housing that meets the needs of Indigenous people.
Opportunity 4: Provide funding earlier in the process
When stacking funding from each level of government, Federal funding often comes last. This results in bottlenecks, often forcing projects to wait until that funding is confirmed. This sequential approach delays starts and increases holding costs.
Opportunity 5: Support The City's approach to collecting development charges
Calgary’s development charges are among the lowest in the country. Cutting development charges nationwide will disproportionately impact municipalities like Calgary, who have worked closely with the building industry to create an environment where fees are low, and growth pays for growth.
Why invest in Calgary?
- Calgary’s population is growing rapidly. By doing more now, we can prevent Calgary from losing its affordability advantage over other major Canadian cities.
- Calgary is shovel ready. We led per capita housing starts in Canada in 2024 and absolute housing starts in 2025.
- The City has a proven track record of acting quickly to get money out the door to support housing providers.
- Calgary is primed to galvanize the use of pre-fabricated, modular development. Building more, faster.
The City's wholly owned housing subsidiaries
Supporting deep subsidies
Calgary Housing
Calgary Housing is the largest residential landlord in Calgary, managing homes for nearly 10,000 households. They provide housing to a range of Calgarians from those who need deeply subsidized housing to those who need rental supports.
With Frequent Builder status from CMHC, Calgary Housing is able to expedite non-market housing development.
Advancing modular housing in Calgary
Attainable Homes Calgary
Attainable Homes Calgary is at the forefront of pre-fabricated modular construction. They are engaged in a public-private partnership with ATCO Structures, a Calgary-based global leader in prefabricated modular construction. With Attainable Homes Calgary, we are progressing towards a regular capacity of 500 homes per year and targeting 3,000 homes over the next decade.
The City of Calgary supports for modular housing include:
- Dedicated City land below market value
- Municipal grant support
- Financing guarantees
- Development fee rebates
- Streamlined planning approval processes
The City's housing programs at a glance
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In November 2023, Calgary City Council approved a $60M investment intended to be used by our housing partners to leverage capital funding from other orders of government to support the creation of new non-market rental housing.
Through the first round of HCI, The City funded 480 non-market units using $30M of the funds approved by Council.
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In February 2016, Calgary City Council approved funding to provide Pre-
Development Grants and City Fee Rebates to not-for-profit affordable housing providers. This funding is flexible and provides early-stage support to help get projects off the ground.
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Maa’too’maa’taapii Aoko’iyii’piaya
For Indigenous, By IndigenousCalgary City Council has approved $30 million in funding to support Indigenous-led affordable housing in Calgary through a new housing program, Maa’too’maa’taapii Aoko’iyii’piaya. This “For Indigenous, By Indigenous” housing program ensures that housing reflects Indigenous ways of knowing, relationships, and governance.
This innovative program offers 40% of project funding, further empowering Indigenous groups to build housing.
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The City received $251 million of federal government Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF) investment to support housing initiatives.
Due to our outstanding progress towards our targets, CMHC labeled Calgary as one of the top-performers. As of July 2025, The City has met 104% of its HAF overall supply growth target.
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The Non-Market Land Sale Program (NMLS) is the sale of surplus City-owned land at below market value to experienced non-profit affordable housing developers.
To date, 1,185 units are expected to be developed through this program.
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Cutting Red Tape
To improve planning processes, The City has instituted several initiatives to speed up development:
• Digital application processes
• Providing developers with access to online City data (e.g., utility information) to make informed decisions on land acquisition
• Expediting application reviews for non-market housing developments