Public Housing for Nova Scotians
Building Homes. Strengthening Communities.
Building Homes for Nova Scotians
Everyone deserves a safe, comfortable place to call home. That’s why the Province released its five-year Our Homes, Action for Housing plan Action for Housing – Government of Nova Scotia, Canada.
Part of the plan is dedicated to public housing – providing homes for more than 1300 Nova Scotians. The plan is supported by the largest investment ever in public housing – about a quarter-of-a-billion-dollars.
Roles and Responsibilities
Provincial departments and agencies, municipalities, industry, and the federal government work together to provide public housing.
The Department of Growth and Development
Sets policy in line with provincial priorities and federal agreements
Provides funding and strategic oversight
Build Nova Scotia
Leads planning, design and construction
Ensures projects stay on time and on budget
Municipalities
Work with Build Nova Scotia on site servicing (e.g., water, sewer), zoning, permits, etc.
Advise on community needs, share information with the community and provide feedback
The Nova Scotia Provincial Housing Agency
Manages all public housing
Determines who is eligible for new public housing, based on a chronological waitlist
Responds to tenant needs
Federal Government
Provides funding through federal-provincial housing agreements
Build Nova Scotia also works closely with the design and construction industry to help deliver public housing as efficiently and cost-effectively as possible. Almost 100 organizations – including bigger and smaller home builders, modular and construction suppliers, non-profits, engineers, architects and others – asked questions and shared advice in two engagement sessions over the past year.
Build Nova Scotia continues to put their advice into action, including:
- doing more in-depth site analysis to avoid higher development costs and delay,
- developing designs that can be used for multiple projects,
- opening the procurement process to a wide range of companies involved in traditional, modern and hybrid construction,
- scheduling projects in ways that balance the need to build quickly with labour supply and the industry’s capacity to respond, and
- working with partners on streamlining regulatory approvals and processes.
Together, these roles create the foundation for collaboration and housing stability across the province.
Status of Projects
289 of 515 new homes
are underway
or complete.
164
In planning and design
82
Under construction
43
Complete
Building Public Housing: Step-by-Step
Like in the rest of Canada, Nova Scotians need more housing quickly. The money is in place to get started, but building safe, modern homes takes time.
The projects are reviewed after each step to monitor progress, identify issues or risks, update project timelines, and, if needed, adjust project plans before moving to the next step. This helps keep the projects on time and on budget.