African Nova Scotian housing strategy launched, but more funding still needed

An ambitious new community-led housing strategy that aims to increase access to affordable housing for African Nova Scotians has officially launched, but its long-term success will depend on financial support from all levels of government.

Plan aims to tackle housing crisis disproportionately impacting African Nova Scotians

Andrew Sampson · CBC News · Posted: May 15, 2025 6:46 PM EDT | Last Updated: May 15

A Black woman wears a pink jacket with a white shirt underneath. She has greying curly hair. — Sunday Miller, leader of the Nova Scotia Black Community Housing Council, says the release of a new housing strategy for African Nova Scotians is an important first step toward a more equitable future. (Jeorge Sadi/CBC)

An ambitious new community-led housing strategy that aims to increase access to affordable housing for African Nova Scotians has been officially launched, but its long-term success will depend on financial support from all levels of government.

The new plan, which was unveiled by the Nova Scotia Black Community Housing Council at the Black Cultural Centre in Cherry Brook, N.S., on Thursday, is the result of multiple years of research and ongoing consultation with the African Nova Scotian community.

"This is a one-of-a-kind strategy that we've done," said Sunday Miller, leader of the council.

"It's been put together by the Black community for the Black community."

The housing strategy, which can be read in full online, was funded by the provincial government and the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, but developed by the council in collaboration with SHS Consulting and the Black Planning Project.

It identifies four key initiatives to help African Nova Scotians tackle the housing crisis, including:

The establishment of a community bank to gather capital resources for new housing developments.
The creation of a community land trust to acquire and steward land.
The development of a housing hub to act as a central resource for those looking for housing support.
The creation of a new toolkit to navigate the housing development process.

The plan also recommends taking action to increase non-market housing supply, maintain aging housing stock and develop diverse housing options to allow people to return to or stay in historic African Nova Scotian communities.

'It's profound': Housing strategy for African Nova Scotian families nearing completion

It drew upon the input and experiences of 197 African Nova Scotian community members, through 18 workshops held in Black communities across Nova Scotia, and a statistical data analysis.

Among other things, this research found that African Nova Scotian households are more likely to rent compared to other households in the province, and that the share of African Nova Scotian households that rent instead of own has been growing.

"It's time for people of African Nova Scotia descent to have acceptable adequate housing," said Miller.

Community members mill about following a presentation at the Black Cultural Centre of Nova Scotia on Thursday. — Community members mill about following a presentation at the Black Cultural Centre for Nova Scotia on Thursday. (Jeorge Sadi/CBC)

More funding needed to implement strategy

The province's Department of African Nova Scotian Affairs has given the housing council $270,000 to hire an executive who can help establish a governance model and begin to engage possible funders, but Miller said significantly more financial support is needed to implement the strategy.

"I truly believe there should be funding coming from federal, provincial and municipal to make this happen," she said.

Speaking after a cabinet meeting on Thursday, Colton LeBlanc, the province's minister of growth and development, said he'd been briefed on the strategy, but said no financial commitments have been made in response to the plan.

"We are proud supporters and proud funders of that study," said LeBlanc. "We remain at the table with the African Nova Scotian community … and we will continue to work in lockstep with them to address their housing needs."

For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians — from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community — check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of. You can read more stories here.