From young people looking to move into a place of their own to seniors needing some health care support to live somewhat independently, ensuring there are homes for all is a key priority for Alderville First Nation located on the south side of Rice Lake near Roseneath.
As it is in Canadian communities off reserve, access to adequate housing is a pressing issue for Chief Taynar Simpson. To that end, Simpson and Alderville First Nation’s council are working on initiatives to help members stay housed in the community.
“We’ve built a lot of new homes and rental units for members, so increasing the housing inventory for members is front and centre for us right now,” Chief Simpson told kawarthaNOW.
Alderville consistently has people on its waiting list for homes and also has members who are currently living elsewhere and looking to move back to Alderville.
“A lot of them see the good that’s happening in the community and they want to be part of it,” Chief Simpson said.
In addition, “we’re seeing a lot of members who have maybe never even lived in Alderville before wanting to come and move to Alderville, so we want to make sure we have enough housing for them as well as our members,” the chief explained.
Simpson said there are many youth living with their parents who are ready to move into a space of their own.
“It’s really a never-ending challenge to meet all of these housing needs,” Chief Simpson noted. “We are very close to finalizing the First Nations Market Housing Fund, which will allow our members to take out mortgages, the same way you’d be able to off the reserve.”
Historically, banks would never give mortgages on reserve because there’s no way for them to recoup the funds if they went into default, the chief explained.
“With our mortgage housing fund that we have in place, we are guaranteeing the loans that the banks give through a fund, so if something does happen, then we have that money to be able to reimburse the bank for any lost funds,” he said.
“It effectively allows members to take out a mortgage to buy their own home or to buy an existing home on reserve, which was never there before so we’re going to see a growth in housing just from that program.”
He said the program has been in existence for about five years and Alderville is among the first group of First Nation communities entering into that agreement with the Crown.
In terms of access to rentals, Alderville has individual units, seniors’ rental units, and family rental units on reserve. For every home it advertises as available for rent, there are typically seven to eight members applying for the one residence.
Alderville also purchases homes from members looking to sell and renovates them to code and then places them back in the market.
“At one point we had 20 people who had applied for a house we were selling, which means there are 20 people who are looking for homes to buy outright in the community, so we know that we have a long way to go before we meet all of those needs,” Chief Simpson said.
For seniors who require some support but aren’t at the level of needing long-term care, Alderville First Nation has a project underway to refurbish the former women’s shelter, which was closed by an earlier council, to become an assisted living facility.
“We’re hoping for 10 rooms for Elders who aren’t quite ready for long-term care but really shouldn’t be living unassisted in their homes,” Chief Simpson said. “This will allow a higher level of care for these individuals. There will be personal support workers on site at all times.”
“We have a lot of Elders who refuse to leave their homes and refuse to leave Alderville … this way they can stay in Alderville and have that level of care.”
The chief said the hopes are to complete the assisted living facility within the year.
Simpson was re-elected as chief earlier this summer after serving from 2023 to 2025 (Alderville’s chief and five councillors are elected every three years by ballot vote).
The council meets bi-monthly and as often as required to govern the Alderville First Nation safely and efficiently. Each councillor is assigned various committees for programs that they are responsible for overseeing. These committees include councillors, experts (both Indigenous and non-Indigenous), and community members. Through the administration office, the chief and council govern the community.
Alderville has been home to the Mississauga Anishinabeg of the Ojibway Nation since the mid-1830s.
