Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) and the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) are accepting applications for the Indigenous Shelter and Transitional Housing Initiative. Applications will be accepted and reviewed on a periodic basis until March 2024 so long as funding allows.

There is currently funding available for the construction of shelters or transitional housing. This includes new builds or the conversion of an existing building to meet this goal. The maximum construction dollars provided by CMHC per shelter is $3.48 million.

The funding will flow for a 5 year period beginning in 2021/2022.

ISC will provide an average of $800,000 annually to operate shelters and an average of $500,000 annually for transitional housing across the country.

Eligibility

Applicants must be Indigenous Organizations within Canada.

Proposals will be evaluated based on criteria that includes response to distinction and geographic priorities, accessibility, project operations, programs and services, physical building design, safety and security, and feasibility of operational budget. For more information about the evaluation criteria, please click here.

How to Apply

View the application guide.

To apply you will need:

  • To complete the mandatory application worksheet
  • A signed integrity declaration
  • A letter of support from Indigenous Government or Government of intended location of project
  • Letters of support from any community that will have access to the facility and from any organization that will provide services in the facility
  • Audited financial statements for the most recent three years, or, if unavailable, financial statements which have undergone a review engagement
  • Project development plan with supporting documents, including annual operational budget for proposed facility

You must apply through the CMHC online portal, which you can find here.

There will be an attachments section of the application to attach your mandatory application worksheet, integrity declaration form, and any other documents.

Deadline

Applications will be accepted until March 2024. Applications are reviewed twice a year at minimum. The next review phase will begin January 30, 2023.