Canada Housing Infrastructure Fund

Overview of the Canada Housing Infrastructure Fund program:

Announced in Budget 2024, CHIF addresses critical infrastructure needs that impede housing development in Canadian communities. The fund operates through two main streams: Direct Delivery Stream: Administered by Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada (HICC), this stream allocates $1 billion over eight years directly to eligible recipients, including municipalities and Indigenous communities, to tackle urgent infrastructure requirements that facilitate new housing projects. Provincial and Territorial Agreement Stream: This stream provides $5 billion over ten years to provinces and territories, enabling them to address long-term infrastructure and housing priorities in alignment with federal objectives. CHIF emphasizes projects that: Directly enable new housing supply. Remove barriers to housing development in the short term. Demonstrate a high level of readiness, with substantial completion expected by September 2031. A minimum of 10% of the direct delivery stream funding is designated for Indigenous-led projects, acknowledging the unique infrastructure and housing needs within Indigenous communities.

Benefits of the Canada Housing Infrastructure Fund program:

• Accelerated Housing Development: By funding essential infrastructure, CHIF removes barriers to housing construction, facilitating increased supply and densification.
• Support for Indigenous Communities: Dedicated funding ensures that Indigenous-led projects receive necessary resources to address unique housing and infrastructure challenges.
• Flexible Funding Streams: The dual-stream approach allows for both immediate and long-term infrastructure needs to be addressed at municipal, provincial, and territorial levels.

Eligibility criteria of the Canada Housing Infrastructure Fund program:

• Eligible Applicants:
• Direct Delivery Stream: Municipal or regional governments, public sector bodies established by provincial or territorial statute, incorporated not-for-profit organizations, private sector for-profit entities collaborating with eligible public sector entities, and Indigenous applicants.
• Provincial and Territorial Agreement Stream: Provinces and territories that enter into bilateral agreements with the federal government.
• Eligible Projects: Initiatives that directly enable new housing supply by investing in drinking water, wastewater, stormwater, or solid waste infrastructure. Projects should be at least $1 million and should not exceed $100 million in total eligible costs. Indigenous-led projects may also include those that preserve existing capacity or increase reliability and access to essential services for current and future populations.