166 new housing units to be built in 17 Nunavut communities

A contract between the Nunavut Housing Corporation and an Inuit-owned construction company includes plans to build 20 housing units in Igloolik, 16 units in Pangnirtung, 12 each in Kugluktuk and Coral Habour, and up to eight units each in the other communities.

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CBC News Posted: Feb 01, 2024 1:38 PM EST | Last Updated: February 1

a wide snowy road is flanked by buildings on the right side — Construction on 20 new units is set to begin in Igloolik in fall 2024, as part of Nunavut's 10-year housing plan. The territory will also begin construction of homes in 16 other communities around the same time. (Meagan Deuling/CBC)

The Nunavut Housing Corporation is developing 166 new housing units across 17 different communities, with construction scheduled to start in the fall.

The new buildings will include 146 public housing units and 20 staff housing units. The building contract is with the Inuit-owned NCC Development Limited and the Nunavut government says construction of the units will cost the territory $670 per square foot, for a total of $134.7 million

Eiryn Devereaux, president and CEO of the housing corporation, said ina news releasethat the buildings will be good value for the money and that the construction "reflects a significant increase in the annual supply of new public housing units desperately needed across the territory."

Housing will be built this fall in the following communities:
Chesterfield Inlet (8 units)
Clyde River (8 units)
Coral Harbour (12 units)
Grise Fiord (6 units)
Igloolik (20 units)
Kimmirut (6 units)
Kinngait (20 units)
Kugaaruk (8 units)
Kugluktuk (12 units)
Naujaat (8 units)
Pangnirtung (16 units)
Pond Inlet (8 units)
Resolute Bay (6 units)
Qikiqtarjuaq (6 units)
Sanirajak (8 units)
Sanikiluaq (8 units)
Whale Cove (6 units)

The construction plans make up Nunavut's year-two commitments in its 10-year housing plan, calledplanIgluliuqatigiingniq Nunavut 3000.According to the territory,the program aims to create 3,000 new housing units across the territory by 2030, with a budget of $2.57 billion.

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Part of the Nunavut 3000 plan includes training programs for Inuit interested in working in the trades.

"Our organization is committed to mobilizing Inuit-owned and Northern resources to build homes by and for Nunavummiut," said Clarence Synard, NCC Development Limited's president and CEO Clarence Synard, in the news release.

"We have an Inuit labour target of 30 per cent for our negotiated partnership contracts for public housing units and see this as an opportunity to increase training and capacity development for Inuit in the construction trades sector," he said.

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