A new initiative by the Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB) aims to alleviate infrastructure constraints that are limiting new housing construction.

Dubbed the Infrastructure for Housing Initiative (IHI), the tool is available to municipalities and Indigenous communities that want to build new infrastructure in support of new housing supply.

The new lending product is designed to unlock new housing in a very targeted and specific way. Specifically, CIB is looking to partner on eligible projects which are expected to be primarily new, large-scale enabling infrastructure, including:

• water: water, wastewater, stormwater, conveyance
• transportation: roads, bridges and the accompanying civil work
• transit: electric buses, light-rail transit, stations and terminals
• clean power: district energy, electricity distribution, storage

“Through our new lending initiative, we are committed to working with municipalities to unlock new housing developments,” said CIB CEO Ehren Cory. “The housing challenge in Canada requires innovative thinking, new partnerships and a variety of financing supports to make progress. We are pleased to have already advanced financing to a number of projects which will spur new housing such as district energy expansion, transit lines, broadband networks and water treatment facilities.”

Through the IHI, the CIB will share some of the risks relating to the timing of community growth, and will link borrowers’ repayments to the number of housing units expected to increase as housing growth materializes.

IHI will work alongside existing federal supports for housing as part of the broader federal approach to address the housing shortage.