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The City of Saskatoon is launching a new strategy around affordable housing in an effort to reduce homelessness and improve affordability in the Bridge City.
According to the city, Saskatoon’s first-ever housing needs assessment revealed that about 10 per cent of the city’s households — or around 11,115 households, are struggling with housing insecurity.
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“Renters are disproportionately affected, with low-income households, single mothers, seniors and Indigenous residents facing the highest rates of housing insecurity,” the city explained in a statement.
“Rising rents, limited affordable options and increasing homelessness highlight the urgent need for co-ordinated action.”
The city said the goals of the strategy include diversifying housing options, increasing the supply of affordable housing options, and promoting equity around access to housing.
Other goals include raising public awareness and strengthening existing housing partnerships.
The strategy includes a number of targeted actions, the city said, with some of them slated for immediate implementation.
The document also comes with a performance framework that would see council receive annual updates.
The city’s standing policy committee on planning, development and communities services, along with the finance committee, will consider the strategy during their meetings on Wednesday. Councillors will get a chance to look at three budget options associated with the strategy, which each containing a different level of municipal funding.
“Each option is designed to increase the supply of affordable housing and leverage additional funding from provincial and federal sources,” the city noted.
Lesley Anderson, Saskatoon’s director of planning and development, admitted it would ultimately affect property taxpayers. The three options include either $2.525 million in total in 2026 and 2027, the second option would be a total of $4.55 million, while the third option would be for $8.6 million.
It’s not clear how significantly that could affect the property tax rate at this time. As of June, the city was proposing a 9.9 per cent property tax hike in 2026, followed by a 7.3 per cent increase in 2027.
“Pending budget approvals, the proposed budget options would expand investment and collaborate with provincial and federal partners to accelerate affordable housing development.”
Council will consider the three funding options during its budget deliberations for 2026/27.
Anderson said a dedicated municipal contribution to the strategy would keep the city from missing out on funding opportunities from higher levels of government that require matching of funds or complimentary investments at the municipal level.
“A stable and predictable funding model is essential to support the implementation of our Affordable Housing Strategy and respond to urgent housing needs,” Anderson said.
Administration is also proposing a new source of funding to help the strategy succeed. The recommendation, if approved, would see the finance committee allocate 15 per cent of profits from the Neighbourhood Land Development Fund into Saskatoon’s housing program.
“To sum it up, the City Administration is bringing forward a strategy to look at what the housing needs are, what kind of housing is available, how to get it built quickly and then guarantee stable funding for the future,” Anderson said.
Anderson said she’s confident that the strategy “will make our community a strong leader in affordable housing initiatives.”
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