A Nunavut housing agency is seeking nearly $1 billion in federal funding to build 400 affordable rental homes, a proposal that would see taxpayers spend the equivalent of almost $2.5 million per townhouse in an effort to address the territory's chronic housing shortage.Blacklock's Reporter says Igluvut Corporation outlined the request in its 2026 pre-budget submission to the House of Commons finance committee, arguing Nunavut faces the country's most severe housing crisis despite decades of government spending on public housing and emergency repairs."Nunavut continues to experience the most severe housing crisis in Canada," the agency wrote. "Despite decades of public spending, governments continue to spend billions on public and staff housing, emergency repairs and crisis response measures while many Inuit households remain without access to stable, affordable housing."The corporation is asking Ottawa for $990 million to construct 400 affordable rental homes, an average cost of approximately $2.475 million per unit. The proposal also includes funding to establish local factories capable of manufacturing modular housing.The submission does not disclose how much governments have already spent on housing in Nunavut, which has a population of roughly 42,000.According to Igluvut's report, Reimagining Housing In Nunavut: An Inuit-Led Housing System For Self Determination, Economic Transformation And Arctic Sovereignty, about 75% of Inuit households live in housing that is either publicly subsidized or provided through employment.The report states that 67% of Inuit households occupy public housing, 6% live in Government of Nunavut staff housing, 2% reside in other employer-provided rental units and just 9% rent homes on the private market.Home ownership remains rare in the territory, with only 17% of residents owning their homes.The agency said many employed Inuit families, including middle-income earners, remain in public housing because there are few attainable alternatives."Many employed Inuit households including middle class income earners remain concentrated in public housing because there are few attainable alternatives if they want to remain in Nunavut," the report said. "The result is a structurally distorted system.".Igluvut said it has submitted its funding application to Build Canada Homes, the new federal Crown corporation created under Bill C-20, which received Royal Assent on June 18.Housing Minister Gregor Robertson said when introducing the legislation in February that the new agency would help tackle Canada's housing crisis after what he described as decades of insufficient spending on affordable housing construction and maintenance.Build Canada Homes has been tasked with disposing of surplus public lands, providing housing advice, subsidizing affordable housing projects and supporting developments intended to increase Canada's housing supply.
