City of Saskatoon's Role in Affordable Housing
Everyone deserves a safe, suitable and affordable place to call home.
The City of Saskatoon works with governments, housing providers, developers, Indigenous organizations and community partners to help increase the supply of affordable housing across Saskatoon. While the City does not build, own or operate housing, it supports affordable housing through research, planning, incentives, land and funding programs, partnerships and advocacy.
This work is guided by HOUSING Saskatoon: Affordable Housing Strategy 2025-2030, which sets out the City’s approach to improving housing affordability and access for Saskatoon residents.
The City’s role in housing
The City works to:
- Research & Innovate - conducting research to understand housing needs, trends and best practices, identifying ways that the City can leverage data to inform policy decisions and improve outcomes.
- Partner & Convene – building and maintaining strong relationships with government agencies, non-profits, developers, and community groups to leverage collective expertise and resources.
- Invest - allocating financial resources to support and incentivize affordable housing initiatives, including land acquisition and disposition, program funding and development support to increase the supply of affordable housing.
- Advocate – being a voice for policy, funding and legislative changes to leverage support for affordable housing while working to remove barriers.
- Educate – raising public awareness about housing needs, the benefits of affordable housing, and available programs.
- Regulate – using municipal processes and regulatory tools to support affordable housing.
- Monitor – measuring and evaluating progress made toward meeting affordable housing goals.
Funding: Affordable Housing Reserve
The Affordable Housing Reserve helps fund affordable housing programs and projects.
The reserve was established in 1987 to provide the City’s contribution to social housing projects funded by the federal and provincial governments. It was later expanded to support a broader range of affordable housing projects.
Where does the funding come from?
Most funding has come from proceeds from the sale of City-owned land. In October 2025, City Council approved the Neighbourhood Land Development Fund Allocations Policy, which directs 15% of Neighbourhood Land Development Fund profits to the Affordable Housing Reserve.
How has the reserve been used?
From 1987 to 2007, approximately $14.4 million supported the creation of more than 2,400 housing units, including social housing, private-sector affordable housing and new homeowner co-operatives.
Since 2007, approximately $19.2 million in Saskatoon Land profits has been directed to the City’s housing program.
Who oversees the reserve?
City Administration manages the reserve and makes funding recommendations to City Council. City Council approves funding for specific affordable housing projects.