Alberta Housing Minister Blocks Federal Deals

0:00It's April 3rd. This is Canada News today, powered by AI. Alberta's housing minister Jason Nixon is drawing a line in the sand threatening to block all future federal housing deals unless Ottawa treats red. Dear fairly, the feds just killed the city's $12 million housing accelerator fund agreement back in January because Red Deer didn't adopt blanket zoning for up to four units per lot. That zoning rule was mandatory for the program's second round, but Red Deer refused with Mayor Cindy Jeffries calling it a non-starter for her. Community. They've already pocketed $3 million, and the rest got shipped off to AirDrie in Edmonton as a one-time fix. Meanwhile, Ontario cities like Toronto and Vaughan broke similar rules but only saw their funds trimmed, 10 million from Toronto's 400, 71 million pot, and 7.4 million from Vaughan's 59 million. Nixon agrees with those cuts, but slams the full wipe out for a growing spot like Red Deer. Nixon fired off a letter with other ministers saying Alberta won't sign off on more deals

1:04until everyone gets the same flexibility. NDP leader Nihid Nenshi fired back, accusing them of turning away free cash, emitted deficit, and housing crunch. Federal reps insist on protecting deal integrity while keeping tops open with Alberta. Jeffries is eyeing a meeting with the housing minister in two weeks, pushing for tailored approaches that fit prairie cities without holding up homes for those in need.