Indigenous Innovators Building The Foundation For Affordable Homes

Parksville, Traditional Snuneymuxw First Nation Territory, British 

The Honourable Marc Miller, Minister of Indigenous Services, congratulated 24 Indigenous innovators on moving forward in developing their ideas under the Indigenous Homes Innovation Initiative.

The 24 innovators come from all regions of Canada and their ideas cover a range of new ways to respond to Indigenous social and housing needs.

The selected innovators are now taking part in the ‘Accelerator’ period, which began today at the Tigh-Na-Mara Conference Centre in Parksville, British Columbia. The Accelerator will provide the innovators with mentoring support from Indigenous architects and other professionals to refine their ideas into implementable projects.

The Innovation Initiative’s Indigenous Steering Committee, comprising First Nations, Inuit and Métis Nation experts in infrastructure and housing, selected the 24 innovators out of the 342 who had submitted ideas to the Initiative.

Innovators will spend up to 18 months working with experts during the Accelerator period. Innovators that complete the Accelerator period and successfully demonstrate that their proposal is ready for implementation will receive implementation funding. Lessons learned from the Accelerator will also provide useful information for Indigenous communities toward addressing their housing needs.

“Congratulations to the 24 selected innovators and thank you to all applicants who submitted their ideas to the Indigenous Homes Innovation Initiative. Our government is very pleased to support this outstanding project to promote Indigenous solutions to Indigenous housing issues. I look forward to following the activities of this Initiative as we move into the Accelerator process. This is an excellent opportunity to promote mutual learning and promote partnerships between Indigenous innovators and mentors.” The Honourable Marc Miller, Minister of Indigenous Services

The Indigenous Homes Innovation Initiative aims to support the voices and ideas of Indigenous peoples directly, and complement the Government of Canada’s investments to improve housing conditions in Indigenous communities. Supporting creative approaches and bringing forward new ideas from Indigenous people will help spark changes that can lead to better housing and social conditions.