Progressive Conservative leader Blaine Higgs during a campaign stop at the Moncton Press Club on Aug. 25, 2020. (Photo: Christina Mulherin)
The Progressive Conservatives are committed to advancing their 10-year housing strategy.
Leader Blaine Higgs was in Moncton today discussing how they intend on tackling the issue and what the party has already done since the plan’s launch last year.
“We funded the purchase and renovation of a building to help Nazareth House expand its shelter operations. This spring, we announced funding for the MacDonald Centre, this funding will consist of 40 affordable and accessible rental units. All around the province we are digging in to and understanding the local realities and how we can make a meaningful improvement,” he says.
Higgs says about 450 people in the province are homeless, and 5,000 more are waiting for subsidized housing support.
He says the number of homeless individuals in Moncton is three to four times more than the province’s other urban centres.
“We applaud the work that you are doing with Rising Tides, a new housing authority focusing on the community approach to affordable housing. Our goals are aligned and together we will help you address this issue locally and right across the province,” he says.
In the first three years of the plan, $62 million will be invested to build new flexible housing options, repair and renovate existing houses, and create mixed housing.
“Over the life of the agreement, we set a target of eliminating 1,200 households from the waiting list for subsidized housing,” he says.
Higgs says that by 2022, 151 new subsidized housing units will be created to support this goal.
