OTTAWA, April 29, 2009 — The Government of Canada and the province of Nova Scotia are partnering on a joint investment to build new and renovate existing affordable housing. This investment will help create jobs, strengthen the economy, and improve the quality of life for Nova Scotians.

Both levels of government officially signed an amendment to the Canada-Nova Scotia Affordable Housing Program Agreement and an extension to the Canada – Nova Scotia Housing Renovation Program Agreement, resulting in a joint investment of almost $128 million over the next two years.

The Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development Canada and Minister Responsible for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), and the Honourable Chris d’Entremont, Nova Scotia Minister of Community Services, made the announcement at a signing ceremony today, accompanied by the Honourable Peter MacKay, Minister of National Defence and Minister for the Atlantic Gateway.

“The Government of Canada continues to work hard to support Canadians during these challenging economic times, and has moved aggressively to ensure Canada’s Economic Action Plan is implemented rapidly,” said Minister Finley. “We are helping the most vulnerable, including seniors and persons with disabilities, access suitable, affordable housing, as well as making needed renovations to existing social housing both in Nova Scotia and across Canada.”

Today’s announcement of almost $128 million includes federal funding of $48 million, matched by the province, over two years under Canada’s Economic Action Plan as part of a one-time investment of more than $2 billion to build new and renovate existing social housing in Canada.

“Housing funds on the scale we are talking about today have not been seen in our province in decades and will not only allow us to help Nova Scotians in need of housing, but those in need of work,” said Minister d’Entremont. “This investment in affordable housing is a major part of Nova Scotia’s Building for Growth provincial infrastructure plan which will inject close to $2 billion into our economy over the next three years.”

“Our Government is committed to making affordable housing available in Nova Scotia and today’s announcement is good news for our province,” said Minister MacKay. “This investment will help create much needed jobs, strengthen the economy, and improve the quality of life for Nova Scotians.”

These investments build upon the $1.9 billion commitment for housing and homelessness programs announced by the Government of Canada in September 2008, which extended the Affordable Housing Initiative and the renovation programs for low-income households for two years. The two-year extensions of these programs means a further $32 million will be invested to build new affordable housing and assist low-income households with needed renovations to their homes. Of this total, the federal government will contribute $21 million, while the province will invest about $11 million.

“I am very pleased that the federal government and Nova Scotia are partnering to provide much needed funding for affordable housing in our communities,” said Bill Buckland, Vice-President of the Affordable Housing Association of Nova Scotia, and Board Member of the Canadian Housing and Renewal Association. “These investments will help lower-income people, seniors and families, access affordable housing in Nova Scotia.”

CMHC has been Canada’s national housing agency for more than 60 years. CMHC is committed to helping Canadians access a wide choice of quality, affordable homes and making vibrant and sustainable communities and cities a reality across the country.

To find out more about how the Government of Canada and CMHC are working to build stronger homes and communities for all Canadians, call CMHC at 1-800-668-2642. For more information on Canada’s Economic Action Plan, call 1-800-O Canada. This CMHC report was reviewed by Sandy Hutchens.