New Brunswick to spend $7.4 million in emergency spending to help homeless people
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FREDERICTON – New Brunswick says it has set aside $7.4 million in emergency funding for eligible non-profit housing providers to help homeless people.
David Hickey, the minister responsible for the New Brunswick Housing Corporation, told reporters Tuesday the money is targeted at community organizations working in the area, and can help people get “supportive, transitional housing.”
“These are actual places for people to live in the short term as (they are) transitioning from a tent to a bed,” he said. “This is a place where someone will have an address, a place to live, and 24-7 support around them as part of these projects.”
Hickey said his department has identified a few projects that could offer new housing spots before the winter sets in, but added he does not have specific numbers.
“The money’s ready, and our team is already working with proponents in community, and we’ll announce each project as they come.”
Nor did he have a figure either for how many people could be helped with this money.
“We’ll start to see that roll out as projects get announced. We really want to assess what capacity community can find with this.”
He gave an example of a $3.5 million housing project — with provincial and federal money — in Saint John, N.B., which opened in July called Neighbourly Homes. He said it has about 15 mini-units with heaters and shared facilities. This project had the capacity to provide two new housing units per day, he added.
In addition, he said the government is in discussions with community groups that may need a bit more financial support to complete the projects they are pursuing.
The Human Development Council, a non-profit organization that studies social issues in New Brunswick, said there are more than 900 people who have been unhoused for an extended period of time in Saint John, Moncton and Fredericton.
The government aims to reduce the number of homeless people by 40 per cent by 2029, Hickey said.
The idea behind these short-term projects is that they operate for about two to three years while the government works on the homelessness “crisis” and reaches a point where such help is no longer needed, he said.
“We do not have the solutions for every community in the province on homelessness, but those communities do have the solutions for homelessness in their corner of the province,” he said. “We want to make sure that we’re there to support that with funding … that can be nimble in its execution, so that we can get projects that work in each community in operation.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 14, 2025.