Building stability: Prince Albert’s strategy to meet growing housing demands

Prince Albert, a growing and diverse municipality in central Saskatchewan, is taking important steps to better understand and address its evolving housing needs. As a regional hub for many northern communities, the city faces unique pressures on its housing system that have intensified in recent years as the population expands, rental costs climb, and more residents look for stable, affordable homes.

Prince Albert's 2024 Housing Needs Assessment (HNA) paints a clearer picture of the city's housing landscape. The HNA shows a significant affordable housing shortfall, estimating that 1,470 additional affordable units are needed to meet current demand. Several factors are driving this gap, including rising rents, an aging and inadequate housing stock, and a reliance on unregulated secondary rental units, which leaves many households with limited stability and few protections. Nearly 1,365 households are in core housing need, and with rental costs up more than 10 percent since 2021, affordability pressures continue to grow. This is felt more acutely by low-income households, seniors, single parents, and Indigenous residents, who make up more than 40 percent of the city's population.

Homelessness has also increased sharply. According to the HNA, the 2024 Point-in-Time Count identified 230 individuals experiencing homelessness, almost double previous counts, with many living unsheltered and others cycling between temporary housing, emergency shelters, and corrections facilities. Service providers report that current shelter capacity falls short of what is required. These conditions point to an urgent need for expanded supportive and transitional housing, culturally appropriate and Indigenous-led services and stronger coordination across agencies to create a more effective and sustainable response.

Prince Albert is responding by strengthening its planning tools and committing to evidence-based decision-making to guide future housing investments. The city identified housing targets that include building new supportive units, expanding the supply of affordable housing, increasing age-friendly homes for residents 55 and over, and adding more entry-level homes to retain young families and attract needed workers. An implementation plan is now underway, and with a clear picture of what types of housing are needed most, Prince Albert is focused on building the partnerships and mobilizing the tools to make it happen.

Prince Albert is also exploring new incentive programs, such as grants and land-based supports to help developers deliver more affordable and diverse housing options. Partnerships remain central to the city's approach, with ongoing collaboration among nonprofits, Indigenous organizations, housing providers, and provincial and federal partners. These coordinated efforts aim to expand supportive housing capacity, strengthen homelessness services, improve rental conditions, and prepare city-owned land for future residential development. Through these partnerships, sites have already been secured for a purpose-built enhanced emergency shelter, a complex needs facility, as well as sober housing.

"Completing Prince Albert's HNA has given us a clear picture of our most pressing housing needs. We know that Prince Albert is a growing community, and we know that housing challenges exist, but we now have the data to pinpoint where the gaps are. We can better focus our efforts and resources on providing the types of housing that are needed most, and can more effectively measure our progress moving forward," says Michael Nelson, Acting Director of Community Development.

Through shared commitment and evidence-based planning, Prince Albert is laying the groundwork for more stable, inclusive, and affordable housing options. The Government of Canada is proud to support municipalities like Prince Albert as they build forward-looking strategies to create vibrant, resilient communities where everyone has a safe place to call home.

Learn more about Prince Albert's housing initiatives or read the city's Housing Needs Assessment.