Record-high wait-lists, record-high building permits: a look at Thunder Bay's housing goals

The City of Thunder Bay issued a record-high number of building permits in 2024, paving the road for a busy year of construction as it works toward ambitious housing targets.

Last February, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visited the northwestern Ontario city to announce Thunder Bay would be receiving $20.7 million through the Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF).

That money is intended to fast-track the development of more than 600 new housing units, to reach a total of 1,691 new homes by February 2027.

"It's about finding ways to increase the number of homes that are being built here in Thunder Bay, so either through grant programs and incentives or through zoning changes — opening up new lands, new infrastructure to allow for more housing to be developed," explained Summer Stevenson, the city's project manager for the Housing Accelerator program.

Since then, the city has launched four new grant programs aimed at incentivizing development. This year, it's also planning three new infrastructure projects that will unlock more land.

In all, 330 building permits were issued by the city in 2024 – a jump from 310 the previous year. If all of the projects that have received funding through the HAF move forward, that number will be close to 400 for 2025, Stevenson said.

"We're excited to start getting these projects through, so hopefully, we see lots of construction next season," she said.

Like the rest of the country, Thunder Bay has been hit hard by the housing crisis. At least 550 people are estimated to be experiencing homelessness in the city, about 78 per cent of which are Indigenous.

Meanwhile, the wait-list to get into social housing in the Thunder Bay district is at a five-year high at just under 1,400 people, according to members of the Thunder Bay District Social Services Administration Board (TBDSSAB).

As the city eyes ambitious targets for new housing starts, community partners are working together to support a range of units to meet people's needs.

Adding density with diversity of units

The city's HAF grants are available for homeowners, developers and not-for-profit organizations. So far, homeowners have been applying for grants the most, to build backyard homes and basement suites – adding what Stevenson calls soft density in the community.

"There are a lot of folks in the community who are excited about this and want to contribute to the solution when it comes to our housing crisis," she said.

"It's awesome to see and have these conversations with everybody in our community about what can we do here in Thunder Bay to get more homes built and what does that mean for people here in Thunder Bay."

Meanwhile, TBDSSAB is looking to add capacity at all levels of the housing continuum. In November, it provided funding for 40 additional emergency shelter spaces. Last week, it announced more than $8.3 million in provincial funding to support 66 transitional housing units in the city. The money comes from the Homelessness Prevention Program.

"People are much more housing-ready as they come out of these programs," said Aaron Park, TBDSSAB's manager of housing and homelessness programs, on the benefit of transitional housing units.

"They learn the skills on how to live on their own — some have never had those or some have lost those from being homeless for as long as they may have been — so it's really exciting to see."

Meanwhile, outreach workers are continuing to check in with people who are using the shelter system or staying in encampments to help keep them connected to supports, said Michelle Wojciechowski, TBDSSAB's manager of intake and eligibility.

"Relationships are key, and when staff are making connections with individuals, they're feeling comfortable and open more to share their experiences and offer the best-case scenario to match them to what would be the best possible solution for them moving forward — into whatever that may look like for housing opportunities," Wojciechowski said.

'One organization alone can't address it'

As Thunder Bay – and the rest of Canada – continue to grapple with how to ease the housing crisis and the growing number of people experiencing homelessness, Ken Ranta said it's important for organizations to lean on each other for support.

"Housing and homelessness is part of a continuum, but so are the services within the system that address that — and so one organization alone can't address it," said Ranta, chief executive officer of TBDSSAB.

"Looking into 2025, we have definite plans to continue to grow the supportive and transitional housing units within the district, and we will also look to see which of our services both delivered directly and through our providers are most utilized, where can we try to augment resources to meet the needs that are present."

As for Stevenson, she's expecting another busy year of HAF grant applications – with hopes that more people will pitch creative solutions that add density to the city in a sustainable way.  

An HAF progress tracker is available on the city's website, which Stevenson said will be updated soon and include a map of where units are being built.