Main content of the website

  1. Home
  2. Village Services
  3. Community Planning
  4. Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF)

Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF)

Funding Opportunity! See Additional Initiative #2 Dwelling Construction Grant at the bottom of this page for details!

The Village of Haines Junction welcomes your feedback or ideas on the implementation of the Housing Accelerator Fund.

Please contact Lianna Grice, Project and Asset Manager, by email (projects@hainesjunction.ca), phone (867-634-7100 x105) or stop by the Village Office for a chat!

Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF) Overview

The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation's Housing Accelerator Fund is encouraging local initiatives to remove barriers to building more homes, faster. The fund is helping to boost housing supply while supporting affordable, diverse and climate-resilient communities. HAF funding can be put towards investments in action plans, affordable housing, housing-related infrastructure and community-related infrastructure that supports housing.

 CMHC News Release (April 2, 2024)

Haines Junction will receive $1,234,637 to support its Action Plan which commits to five local initiatives that are projected to incentivize 20 additional permitted units over the next three years and help spur the construction of 90 homes over the next decade. Planned initiatives include zoning changes to remove barriers to missing middle housing and promote higher density, improvements to building permitting and approvals process, launching a new dwelling construction grant program for young residents, a review of recreation and community services, as well as the promotion of more mixed-use opportunities that can lead to more housing.

 Public Notice (May 9, 2024)

The Village of Haines Junction announced its receipt of just over $1.2M from the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) on May 9, 2024. Shortly after the announcement, a Project and Asset Manager was hired on a three-year term to oversee implementation of the HAF Agreement between CMHC and the Village of Haines Junction.

HAF Action Plan Initiatives in Haines Junction

This initiative focuses on increasing permitted "missing middle" units in Haines Junction. Current zoning is restrictive considers only single-family dwellings, and does not promote density in areas that can accommodate more housing. While the zoning bylaw review will look at many aspects of the zoning bylaw, it will look to facilitate this increase in density and permits through missing middle forms of housing.

This initiative focuses specifically on improving and simplifying the building approvals processes for Haines Junction’s property developers. Currently, the Government of Yukon provides building permits and approvals and the Village of Haines Junction issues development permits. We can describe this current system as fragmented, costly, and sometimes, uncertain. The Village would like to work with the Government of Yukon and develop solutions to streamline and simplify the building permit process.

The New Dwelling Construction Grant Program will assist young Haines Junction residents 35 years old and under with offsetting the cost of building a new primary dwelling in the Community. This initiative is focused solely on increasing the housing supply and improving affordability for young people in our community.

The policy, bylaw and application forms are linked below. The application period is now closed.

This initiative will build on the findings of the 2023 Recreation Needs Assessment to help guide Village investments in recreation related amenities, programs and infrastructure. It will also explore completing a community services review and/or economic development strategy to assess other ways to support long-term residency.

The Village's current zoning bylaw already permits zoning as-of-right for many uses, but the revised zoning bylaw will look to expand the number of uses that lead to housing and promote higher density mixed-use developments. Our goal is to use these changes as an opportunity to promote more housing as well as bring in more commercial development in Haines Junction.

This Housing Needs Assessment, prepared by CitySpaces Consulting and funded by Government of Yukon, was released in February 2025. This report provides an understanding of current and anticipated housing needs in the Village of Haines Junction.

On June 26, 2024 the Village of Haines Junction posted a Call for Expressions of Interest from local developers to create affordable housing in Haines Junction. This initiative provides an opportunity for developers to come forward with innovative ideas that could benefit from the support of the Village of Haines Junction. Proposed projects should meet the CMHC definition of affordable housing and be in line with YHC's estimated housing needs for Haines Junction.

Selected projects may benefit from:

  • Letters of support from the Village for developer-led application(s) to CMHC or YHC affordable housing funding programs to support the project
  • Partnership in application(s) led by the Village to funders for Municipal affordable housing programs to support the project
  • Up to 5% of unit costs, to a maximum of $25,000 per unit 
  • Permitted uses of HAF funding: Construction of affordable housing, Repair or modernization of affordable housing, Land or building acquisition for affordable housing

The Village of Haines Junction received several Expressions of Interest from local developers to construct affordable housing for both rental and sale. Expressions of Interest have been evaluated and successful applicants were invited to submit a proposal. Applicants were encouraged to concurrently apply for other funding opportunities from CMHC, Yukon Housing Corporation and other funders.

The Dwelling Construction Grant program aims to assist residents with construction of dwelling units within the Village of Haines Junction by providing financial assistance for eligible projects. The maximum eligible grant will be $25,000 per dwelling unit. Construction must be completed before July 11, 2027.

The Dwelling Construction Grant has three streams: 

  • The Homeowner stream aims to assist residents with the construction of a new primary residence. 
  • The Affordable Rental stream aims to assist developers with the construction of new affordable rentals, including secondary suites and the conversion of existing “in-law suites” to permitted secondary suites. 
  • The Developer stream aims to assist local developers with the construction of new homes for sale.

All streams will support housing development within the Village of Haines Junction while increasing affordability for residents and targeting the development of smaller dwelling units.

Applications will be reviewed by Village staff and if approved, awarded on a “first come, first served” basis. The application period will open on April 22, 2026 at 9:00am and remain open until all grant funding is allocated.

The DRAFT policy and bylaw are linked below. The final policy, bylaw and application forms will be posted on or before April 8, 2026.

Applicants are encouraged to apply for other funding opportunities available from the Village of Haines Junction, Yukon Government and Government of Canada. Below are a few examples of funding opportunities: