Project Completion Estimate

We expect that our new affordable housing complex will be completed in January 2027. A link for the application form for tenancy will be available on our website when we are ready to accept applications.

Eligibility

The YWCA New Affordable Housing Program is intended for eligible single individuals, couples, and single‑parent households with at least one dependent who are experiencing housing instability or are at risk of homelessness.

To qualify, applicants must meet all of the following eligibility criteria, consistent with Saskatchewan Housing Corporation (SHC) requirements:

Income and Assets: Total household income and assets must be at or below the limits established by Saskatchewan Housing Corporation (SHC), including the Saskatchewan Household Income Maximum (SHIM‑Low).
Independent Living: Applicants must demonstrate the ability to live independently, either alone or with appropriate community or family supports.
Residency Status: Applicants must be legally entitled to live in Canada and must not be in Canada on a visitor or student visa.
Rental History: Applicants must have positive landlord references, where applicable, and no history of serious tenancy violations.

Eligible households are assessed based on housing need, and when a unit becomes available, housing is offered to the household with the greatest demonstrated need, in accordance with program policies.

The supply of housing in Prince Albert has not kept up with the population growth of our city in recent years. Prince Albert is in desperate need of all levels of housing, including affordable units for those on low or fixed incomes. Our brand new, twenty-unit affordable housing complex currently under construction aims to address some of the current gap in housing supply.

Housing Need in Prince Albert

The City of Prince Albert completed a Housing Needs Assessment for 2025, indicating that 1,470 housing units were needed to fulfill our community’s current needs. This includes a need for 426 affordable units, and 671 market-rate units that need to be built, meaning that each year Prince Albert needs to build 160 units to catch up to needs. Our current supply of housing is aging, with over 60% of homes in the city built before 1981. We can see the need for housing reflected in the Point-in-Time (PiT) count for 2024, which identified 230 individuals as experiencing homelessness, up from 120 in 2022.

The Housing Continuum

Housing needs are arranged across a spectrum, with individuals and families moving across it depending on social and particularly financial circumstances. YWCA Prince Albert currently has programs that provide emergency shelter, transitional housing, and supportive housing. This project will add affordable housing units to our offering to address part of the need in Prince Albert.

Affordable housing provides a stable environment so that clients can potentially move up the housing continuum to market rental housing. Our units can be rented as long as needed, but most individuals and couples will use it as a stepping stone to market rental housing.

Our Affordable Housing Program

Twenty affordable units for low-income individuals, couples, and single-parent households in bachelor and one-bedroom layouts. Tenants will be able to access as-needed support through our Community Connection Centre for employment supports, financial assistance, life skills, basic supplies, and more. Navigating living independently is often difficult for those on low and fixed incomes, so assistance is often needed to ensure success.

*Photos are engineer mock-ups and do not reflect actual furnishings or appliances.

The majority of the funding for this project has been provided by Sask Housing Corporation and the Government of Canada. The City of Prince Albert also generously contributed $30,000.

Construction is expected to be complete in January 2027. The complex was designed by Prakash Consulting Ltd, and is being constructed by Miller Contracting.