Alberta funding for Jasper housing rebuild 'can't be spent' amid impasse: minister

The Alberta government says it is at an impasse with Jasper and Parks Canada on building temporary housing units. Jeremy Thompson reports.

Alberta’s social services minister says $112 million earmarked for 250 new permanent homes in Jasper, Alta., is off the table if Parks Canada and the local government continue to pursue a different vision for the town’s post-wildfire rebuild.

The Alberta government’s promised funding is now hanging in the balance as the mountain town argues multi-unit buildings are needed to help the town’s long-standing housing shortage. The province is requiring the funding be used to build detached, single-family homes.

“If we don’t have a project that meets those requirements, then this money can’t be spent,” Jason Nixon, Alberta’s minister of seniors, community and social services, told reporters Tuesday.

With more than 600 Jasper families without homes, competing visions over how the fire-ravaged town should move forward has led to an impasse between the province and the municipality, which is working alongside Parks Canada in the rebuild.

Given the limited space to build, Jasper officials have said that under the provincial plan, only 60 of the promised 250 homes could be built.

The town, meanwhile, wants to pursue short-term housing as it develops permanent high-density units. It’s a process that would take 18 to 24 months.

These homes are in addition to the insurable homes that will be rebuilt in the coming years.

Speaking to reporters earlier in the day, Jasper’s director of recovery said the town is “in a period of uncertainty” over whether the provincial government will cover the servicing costs for interim housing units. He expects those costs to be between $5 million and $7 million.

“The municipality does not have the financial resources to be able to absorb that level of cost, and so we are going to continue to work with our partners at the provincial and federal government to try to find solutions to ensure that those servicing costs get paid,” said Michael Fark, director of the Jasper Recovery Coordination Centre.

Fark said the town has a choice between housing a smaller number of people in comfortable housing or more families in “less desirable temporary units.”

“We do understand that this is a trade-off and not ideal.”

Nixon would not say whether the funding would be redirected to other areas of Jasper’s recovery.

“If we don’t end up doing this project, it would not be utilized, but there are other areas where we would be investing in other ministers’ budgets,” he said. “We’ve already invested hundreds of millions to date in Jasper’s recovery. The province is prepared to continue to do so.”

Jasper Mayor Richard Ireland did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding Nixon’s remarks.

Alberta is also helping replace seniors facilities lost in the fire and to put up temporary facilities in nearby Hinton for seniors – work which will continue regardless, Nixon said.

Jasper is prevented from building outside its tightly controlled town boundaries within Jasper National Park. Alterations to that boundary would require a bill to be passed in Parliament, limiting the space in which new housing can be built. Jasper has long experienced a zero per cent vacancy rate.

— With files from Jack Farrell in Edmonton

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 21, 2025.

Matthew Scace, The Canadian Press