What we Heard Report - Engagement Summary

The Housing Team has prepared a summary of the Housing Strategy engagement activities to date. This engagement will continue to inform the remaining development of the Affordable Housing Strategy.  Engagement findings can be found here.

Community Surveys

The previous 2013-2022 Housing Business Plan played a crucial role in encouraging and facilitating the creation of affordable housing in Saskatoon through policy, incentives, research, partnerships, and education. During the 2023 Preliminary Business Plan and Budget deliberations, City Council allocated $245,000 to be used towards the development of a new Housing Strategy. In addition, the City has been approved for a grant of $20,000 from the provincial government through the Encouraging Community Housing Options (ECHO) Funding.

This project will bring the City’s Housing Strategy into alignment with current housing needs, existing plans and strategies as well as other levels of government to ensure current community needs are being met and to provide guidance and direction to Administration by reviewing the City’s role, as it relates to Housing.

The Housing Strategy Project aims to:

• Understand current housing trends and best practices;
• Identify the City’s potential roles and responsibilities when it comes to housing;
• Better understand the community’s current and future housing needs according to affordability, adequacy and suitability indicators;
• Identify the needs of support service organizations and the priority populations they serve in relation to housing;
• Identify opportunities for incentives, both financial and non-financial, to support housing; and
• Determine funding needs to support the implementation of the Housing Strategy.

The Project will include several initiatives to gather input and assess appropriate data to inform the development of the new Housing Strategy:

• Housing Needs Assessment – A review and documentation of the housing resources in Saskatoon, as well as an analysis of population growth and income trends to understand the current state of the housing continuum and potential future pressure points to be addressed in the new Housing Strategy.
• Best Practices Review – A jurisdictional review of Canadian municipalities to identify options, leading practices and tools available to support housing goals in Saskatoon; and
• Engagement – Targeted community consultation efforts.

Based on Council direction, the Project is not anticipated to include the following:

• Research or recommendations in relation to City owned or operated housing;
• Provincial or Federal government responsibilities other than potential advocacy and partnership opportunities; and
• An update or review of Saskatoon’s Homelessness Action Plan.

What is a Housing Needs Assessment?

Housing Needs Assessments are a way for communities to better understand their current and future housing needs. These reports can help identify existing and projected gaps in housing supply by collecting and analyzing quantitative and qualitative information about local demographics, economics, housing stock, and other factors.

Housing Needs Assessment (Phase 1 – Quantitative)

A Phase 1 Housing Needs Assessment was completed in spring 2023 as a direct response to the Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF) application requirements. 

Housing Needs Assessment (Phase 2 - Qualitative)

The Housing Needs Assessment and Community Engagement will be done in in partnership with Community University Institute for Social Research (CUISR). The deliverables for this phase include:

• Completing a literature review and environmental scan
• Reviewing and documenting housing resources in Saskatoon,
• Analyzing population growth and income trends to understand the current state of the housing continuum,
• Interviewing key Stakeholders and conducting Focus Groups
• Hosting Community Engagement events

A component of the Housing Needs Assessment - Phase 2, is the creation of a Community Advisory Committee in which members have the following roles:

• Study design—Are we asking the right questions to the right people?
• Recruitment—Assist in circulating the focus group and interview invitations
• Data collection—Help with providing private space for interview and focus group activities
• Data analysis—give feedback on preliminary analysis
• Dissemination of the findings and recommendations—who are key audiences? What are the best methods to share findings?