This Canadian town is offering $30,000 to people who build a home in the community
By Drew Postey
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REGINA, SASKATCHEWAN (CTV Network) — The town of Moosomin in eastern Saskatchewan plans to double its population by offering $30,000 cheques to those building a home in the community.
Town Councillor Murray Gray said Moosomin has a diverse economy and has seen an uptick in construction in recent years and now they are looking to add more homes for new workers coming in.
“A cheque will be cut from the town directly to the builder, so hopefully that will attract some developers or people just building their own home,” he said.
Gray says the money will be provided when the occupancy permit is released by a building inspector.
The money that will be used belongs to the Town of Moosomin but was initially provided through the federal government’s housing accelerator fund.
“We have got a collaboration between the RM and a community builder’s alliance and the town, we got together and put an application in for that and they see the same need we do so it worked well,” Gray said.
Gray said safeguards for the plan were already in place through the federal government, so they did not feel they needed to add any additional layers of protection.
“To add the doors you have to follow the building permit, so it would be impossible for somebody to not build properly so all of the red tape is there in order to prevent that from happening for sure,” Gray said.
Gray added that residents in the town are excited for the initiative and want to see the community continue to grow.
“It’s tremendous to see a community take a step forward with all the good things that have been happening between adding daycares and our busy hospital, we have 14 doctors. A lot of those things create an excitement in our community and people are proud of our community and our area,” he said.
Gray said he has full confidence the initiative will work and Moosomin’s population will grow substantially, adding that the town was already growing before the plan was unveiled.
“I believe it’s the cherry on top of a sundae,” he said.
In Saskatchewan, towns must have a sustained population of at least 5,000 before it can be under consideration to become a city.
According to the 2021 census, Moosomin had a population of 2,657.
Moosomin is about 225 kilometres east of Regina near the Manitoba border.
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