The Municipal District of St. Stephen (MDSS) has once again been denied housing accelerator funding from the Canadian Housing and Mortgage Corporation.
In a letter emailed to Chief Administrative Officer Jeff Renaud, dated March 6, 2025, it said it was reaching out about the application for the second round of funding and “to inform you that St. Stephen was not selected for funding.”
“Local governments from across Canada have been enthusiastic in their response to HAF,” the letter read. “Unfortunately, with more than 200 applications received for HAF2, we were not able to support all applications with the funding available.”
Mayor Allan MacEachern said the news was disappointing.
“For the second time, after all the work … we just wasted our time,” he said during the meeting. “What bigger problem do we have right now than housing? It’s frustrating.”
MacEachern said he believes there is some political motivation at play.
Coun. Wade Greenlaw echoed those sentiments.
“I know the effort that went into this housing accelerator fund … and it was done really, really well, so it was nothing to do with the application,” he said.
In its most recent application, MDSS asked for $5 million in funding from the federal government. Chief Administrative Officer Jeff Renaud said he thought it had a very strong case.
“Obviously some of those hopes and dreams projects will stay hopes and dreams,” he said during the meeting.
He said it is hopeful that the Regional Development Corporation will be able to assist them with some funding.
Coun. David Hyslop said it is really frustrating, citing that many communities are never successful at getting any funding.
“Just to say that 200 applications received and you weren’t one of the successful ones, it’s not a very good excuse to me,” he said during the meeting.
The housing accelerator fund is designed to provide funding for affordable housing and increase housing stock in communities with significant needs.
St. Stephen has been struggling with a growing number of people experiencing and facing homelessness. It has struggled to find space for those living outdoors and recently announced an out-of-the-cold (OOC) that will become permanent in the spring.
The shelter opened on 9 Main Street and is operated by non-profit group Neighbourhood Works Inc. It is still estimated that around 100 people are experiencing homelessness, but the number fluctuates.
In March 2024, all of the municipalities in Charlotte County that applied for the housing accelerator fund were also denied.
Those included St. Stephen, Saint Andrews, Grand Manan, Campbello, Fundy Shores, McAdam, and Eastern Charlotte.
“The municipality of Eastern Charlotte has been denied federal funding under the Housing Accelerator Fund,” said Mayor John Craig during a council meeting recorded by CHCO-TV back in March 2024. “This is very frustrating and disappointing. We have several housing developments waiting to move ahead, and this funding would have brought a couple of them over the finish line.”
The Canadian Housing and Mortgage Corporation confirmed St. Stephen was again denied funding.
It said it did not receive any application from Fundy Shores, but none of the other Charlotte County municipalities were successful either.
“The evaluation process for HAF was highly competitive, with many strong applications received, and not all could be funded,” said spokesperson Brian Harris with CMHC. “As with the first round of HAF, demand for the second round of HAF significantly exceeded the available budget and only the most ambitious applications were selected.”
It reiterated that it was committed to working with communities, despite all the money being allocated, to create positive housing solutions in the municipalities that were not selected.
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