Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, left, tours Chaal Cadieux's devastated property from the wildfire in Enterprise, Northwest Territories on Wednesday, October 11, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson
YELLOWKNIFE – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says there will be 50 new affordable homes in Yellowknife under the federal government’s rapid housing project.
Trudeau says it’s a jointly funded project between the federal government and the territory, with the city of Yellowknife providing the land.
Trudeau, speaking to reporters in Yellowknife, says construction has already begun.
He says the rapid housing project is now in the third round of funding, with more than 15,000 homes to be built nationally.
Trudeau is in the Northwest Territories touring communities ravaged by recent wildfires.
Trudeau says it was heartbreaking to see residents in small tight-knit communities losing everything to the fires.
The territory saw nearly 70 per cent of its population displaced by wildfires and a record amount of land burned during the fire season.
The 20,000 residents of Yellowknife were forced out of their homes for three weeks in the summer due to an encroaching wildfire.
Flames didn’t enter the city but destroyed most buildings and homes in Enterprise, a hamlet of 100 people near Hay River.
Trudeau toured that area Wednesday, walking among burned-out homes and vehicles as he spoke with officials.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 12, 2023.
