Nunavut's proposed capital budget highlights housing

Nunavut's housing and finance minister, Lorne Kusugak, presented a housing-heavy capital budget in the legislature Thursday.

The 2025-2026 capital estimates total about $353.8 million, with nearly a third $109.7 million going toward housing.

"It's always housing-heavy lately," Kusugak told reporters after presenting the estimates. "It's one of the biggest needs we have and so we're hoping our items will be passed and we could build more houses across Nunavut."

That money would go toward new builds, renovation projects, and work to deal with mold in existing units, among other housing issues. Kusugak said 396 units are already under construction.

Kusugak also saidsimply building more units won't fully address the territory's housing crisis.

"We have to work not just on social and public housing, but we also need to get into encouraging private home ownership," he said, whether that's supporting residents in lease-to-own properties, buying prefabricated homes, or helping them secure a mortgage.

"There are people who want to get out of public housing, which is great for the corporation because it costs a lot of money to maintain a public housing unit," he said.

Kusugak added the price to build houses has dropped in the past few years, going from between $1,200 to $,1500 per square foot to$400 to $600, which has allowed the corporation to build more.

"We're determined to put as many dollars into housing as we can, but also make that dollar go as far as it can," he said.