The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) is denying there’s been a pause on federal housing funding earmarked for Calgary, refuting an internal city memo obtained by Global News.
In a leaked memo to councillors and the mayor sent on Friday, city administration said $129 million in Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF) money designated for Calgary is “paused pending further clarity on the status of citywide rezoning.”
The memo said administration was informed of the funding pause during a meeting on Friday morning with representatives from CMHC.
However, CMHC is denying that claim in an updated response to Global News on Wednesday.
“Calgary’s Housing Accelerator funding has not been paused,” the organization said in a statement. “We will reiterate, we are aware of Calgary’s proposal and are reviewing the details.”
The organization, which allocates the federal HAF funding to municipalities, added, “no official decisions have been made on funding decisions.”
Late Wednesday, city administration said the information included in last Friday’s memo to city council “was preliminary in nature.”
“Discussions evolved over the weekend with the city receiving an update from the federal government indicating future installments of HAF funding were ‘expected to be held’ pending further clarity on the status of citywide rezoning,” the city said in a statement.
Calgary was awarded $251.3 million, including top-ups, from the federal Housing Accelerator Fund following the adoption of citywide rezoning in 2024, with $129.5 million still owed to the city by CMHC.
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According to the City of Calgary, the funding has been used across several initiatives, including incentivizing the construction of secondary suites, the city’s downtown office conversion program and affordable housing projects.
Next month, city council will debate a motion that would kickstart the process to repeal citywide rezoning, which would require a public hearing in March.
The policy, which was approved by the previous city council in May 2024, changed Calgary’s land-use bylaw to make residential grade-oriented infill (R-CG) the default residential zoning district across the city, which allows for a variety of housing types, including single-detached, semi-detached, duplexes and rowhouses on a single lot.
In Friday’s memo, city administration said if the status of citywide rezoning isn’t “clarified” by the end of March, the city’s third installment from the fund “would be relinquished.”
The next installment of Calgary’s HAF funding is expected to be around $64 million and won’t be paid out at the end of March.
Ward 13 Coun. Dan McLean said he still plans to move forward with repealing citywide rezoning, despite the back and forth around the status of the federal funding.
“Somebody is not telling the truth,” McLean told reporters outside budget talks on Wednesday.
Calgary Mayor Jeromy Farkas said he’s under the impression the funding isn’t paused.
“We understand it’s a very live conversation,” Farkas told reporters. “We’re going to continue to be advocating with our federal counterparts about a made-in-Calgary solution about ways we can continue to build the housing that Calgarians need but doing it in a much more targeted approach.”
According to city administration, Calgary is “currently” in full compliance with the Housing Accelerator Fund agreement and continue to implement initiatives with the funding to “ensure more homes are being provided for Calgarians.”
Although “no decisions” have been made when it comes to Calgary’s funding, CMHC also reiterated it expects municipalities to fulfill their agreements.
“If a partner’s agreed upon commitments aren’t met or are reversed, this puts their HAF funding at risk,” CMHC said in a statement.
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