L4H is a partnership initiative (also entitled REMOVING BARRIERS: Supporting access to appropriate land for accelerated housing supply in Nunavut). It focusses on land-related challenges that affect Nunavut’s housing supply. The initiative is funded by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) under its Housing Supply Challenge Round 3 Northern Access Round. NHC has provided some supplemental funding.
The initial L4H “Development Phase” was completed in 2023. The current “Implementation Phase” running from January 2024 through March 2025, is focussed on enhancing access to reliable land related knowledge and data and strengthening collaboration and communication among housing partners.
The goal of L4H is to empower partners involved in the planning, preparation, administration, assessment, and selection of land for homes, and to eliminate barriers that stand in the way of the supply of appropriate land.
L4H partners are the Nunavut Housing Corporation (NHC) who is the applicant and direct recipient of CMHC funding, Inuit Rightsholder Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. (NTI) , and the Nunavut Association of Municipalities (NAM) representing Nunavut’s 25 municipalities.
Other project participants and key stakeholders include the GN Department of Community and Government Services (CGS), the three Regional Inuit Associations (RIAs), the Regional Inuit Development Corporations and Nunavut’s twenty-five municipalities.
Nunavummiut face an ongoing crisis of inadequate housing and a lack of housing options. This has serious social, cultural, and economic costs that are borne by individuals, families and communities across the territory. Without timely access to suitable “build-ready” land, fewer new homes will be built.
Yes. The pace of housing construction has more than doubled in the last two years resulting in increased demand for land. Some communities already have a shortage of suitable build-ready land, and many others face potential shortages in the next few years as the accelerated supply of new homes continues.
Build-ready land has been approved for residential use in the municipality’s Community Plan and Zoning Bylaw, and is serviced by infrastructure including roads, drainage, power, and utilidor (where applicable).
Appropriate land for homes will meet legal requirements for development and will be technically suitable, financially viable, environmentally sustainable and responsive to the social and cultural needs of the community.
Build-ready land has been approved for residential use in the municipality’s Community Plan and Zoning Bylaw, and is serviced by infrastructure including roads, drainage, power, and utilidor (where applicable).
It varies quite a bit. Land planning processes can take 2 to 3 years or longer depending on capacities and priorities. The installation of infrastructure may also require between 2 to 3 years or longer.
Easy access to reliable land-related data and knowledge supports better and more efficient decision making and reduces risks at all stages of the land supply chain and land lifecycle. Information is key to planning, preparing and administering land supply; critical for housing providers who identify, assess and acquire suitable land; and necessary to avoid planning, design and land selection missteps that threaten project success and create long-lasting operational burdens for housing owners and municipalities.
L4H is assessing community-by-community land supply gaps; identifying infrastructure gaps; compiling knowledge and data at community scale, neighbourhood scale, and for specific lots; integrating with existing information tools; developing new information tools to collect, store, and access land related data; and producing tools, guides, and templates to support housing partners in their various roles.
Enhancing the supply of appropriate land is complex, requiring long timelines, large investments, and significant capacity at different levels. Collaboration and information sharing among local and territorial governments, community members, Inuit organisations, home builders, developers, and utility companies supports prioritized planning and decision making and permits the leveraging of resources to achieve shared goals.
No. While the Land for Homes initiative addresses important barriers or risks in the land-for-homes supply chain, a multi-faceted approach and ongoing collaboration is needed to ensure that appropriate land for housing will continue to be ready and accessible in the future when needed.
Yes. By identifying and addressing barriers that affect the supply of appropriate land for homes, L4H supports housing strategies such as the GN’s Igluliuqatigiingniq (Nunavut 3000) housing strategy and NTI’s Angirratsaliulauqta (Nunavut Inuit Housing Action Plan or NIHAP) and aligns with the Government of Nunavut’s Katujjiluta mandate to work collaboratively with Inuit Organizations and other levels of government to achieve tangible outcomes related to housing.
Yes, the land-for-homes supply chain is complicated and requires an “all hands-on-deck” approach to address short term, midterm and longer-term risks. NHC, NTI, the RIAs and other developers continue to identify, assess and secure land to meet their short-term needs.
The GN and local municipalities continue to plan, prepare and administer land; CGS and NAM are working to support local capacity in planning and lands related roles; and NTI is engaging with Inuit across the territory to define and advocate for culturally appropriate land use and housing.
L4H is coordinating with these organisations and some of the municipalities that are participating in related initiatives such as those supported under the CMHC Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF).
Before March 31st 2025, L4H will prepare a business case study that will assess the value of continuing the activities that will continue to support enhanced access to important land-related information and information sharing among housing partners. The study will propose an implementation plan for L4H Partner consideration and action.