PEIThe federal government is providing $2.2 million in funding for renovations in 56 affordable rental properties for P.E.I.’s Indigenous community. Funding provided to Nanegkam Housing Corporation, aimed at supporting Indigenous women and childrenBrittany Spencer · CBC News · Posted: Oct 14, 2025 6:00 PM EDT | Last Updated: 4 hours agoThe federal funding was provided to Nanegkam Housing Corporation, which manages 56 rental units – including duplexes, apartments and single family homes – in Murray Harbour, Summerside, and the Charlottetown area. (Gwyneth Egan/CBC)The federal government is providing $2.2 million in funding to go toward renovations in 56 affordable rental units across P.E.I., with the goal of providing more support to the Island’s Indigenous community.The funding is being provided through the federal Affordable Housing Fund, which gives low-interest and forgivable loans to organizations building or renovating units for affordable housing.Charlottetown MP Sean Casey made the announcement in P.E.I.’s capital city Tuesday. “It’s a chance for a fresh start for many, including some of our most vulnerable people in the community, like our Indigenous women and children. It will bring us closer to a better, fairer future for all,” Casey said. The funding was given to Nanegkam Housing Corporation, which is operated by the Native Council of P.E.I. Nanegkam Housing manages 56 rental units — including duplexes, apartments and single family homes – across the Island, including in Murray Harbour, Summerside and the Charlottetown area. David Rooney, who is Nanegkam Housing Corporation’s housing manager, said there are currently people living in all but one of the units the group manages. He said many of those units were in desperate need of upgrades. Many of the renovations are in progress or have already been completed, Rooney said, and tenants have been very happy with the results.Nanegkam Housing Corporation’s housing manager David Rooney says the group couldn’t have done nearly as much work on the units without the federal money. (Gwyneth Egan/CBC)“We’re getting so many great, great, great responses from our tenants,” he said. “One person said, ‘pinch me because I think I’m dreaming, I’ve never lived in a place this good.’”Rooney said the federal funding has allowed the corporation to make important upgrades to the units to make them safer and more efficient. “We’re putting heat pumps in — which is very important for our elders. We’ve upgraded a lot of electrical panels. We’ve re-done roofs, redone foundations. We’ve put in new boiler systems with propane boilers to get away from oil,” he said.”It does a lot for your mental stability and stuff… Just to have a nice clean, fresh start. It means a lot to a lot of people, especially with their mental health.” ‘It’s a great opportunity to get people back up to where they deserve to be,’ Rooney says. (Gwyneth Egan/CBC)Speaking with reporters after the announcement, Casey said 28 of the 56 units are below the median market rent for Charlottetown, putting the rents at under $1,000 a month per unit. “It’s incredibly difficult to find affordable housing anywhere in Prince Edward Island right now, we have one of the lowest vacancy rates in the country. That’s particularly acute for the more vulnerable, including Indigenous women and children,” Casey said. ABOUT THE AUTHORBrittany Spencer is a multi-platform reporter and producer with CBC Prince Edward Island. She’s covered politics, health care and the justice system. She’s a graduate of Toronto Metropolitan University’s journalism program and joined CBC in 2017. You can reach her at brittany.spencer@cbc.caWith files from Gwyneth Egan
Federal government puts $2.2 million toward renovating 56 rental homes on P.E.I.
