For Immediate Release
January 31st 2024. VANCOUVER, BC – The Alma Mater Society (AMS) of UBC, representing over 60,000 students, is please to hear the federal government is expanding the Apartment Construction Loan Program to include student-housing construction. These low-cost loans will help post-secondary institutions as well as non-profit developers build more student housing on- and off-campus. The inclusion of student housing projects in the Apartment Construction Loan Program will help alleviate the strain on existing housing markets across the country and give students the dedicated supply of housing they need.
Regarded as one of the world’s least affordable cities, Vancouver has Canada’s highest average rental prices and is the third least affordable city across 94 global housing markets. At UBC, housing waitlist numbers are in the mid-thousands, with a 1.5/2 year wait list time, reflecting the ever-increasing demand and insufficient supply of on-campus housing. Affordable and accessible housing is crucial to the well being of students and their success during their post-secondary studies.
The AMS External Affairs office is excited to hear that the federal government is committed to prioritizing post-secondary student concerns and the unique challenges we face in Vancouver and across the country in light of rising costs of living. We will be heading to Ottawa with the Undergraduates of Canadian Research-Intensive Universities (UCRU) to continue to lobby the federal government on issues of affordability, mental health, international student support, and more.
For more information on this recent announcement and how your AMS External Affairs office is advocating for you at the federal level, feel free to contact Joshua Kim vpexternal@ams.ubc.ca or Erin Strachan and Bandhul Vikas Khanna at avpexternal@ams.ubc.ca.
Back to news