Regional Housing Strategy

The County of St. Paul, the Town of St. Paul, the Town of Elk Point, and the Summer Village of Horseshoe Bay have experienced varying rates of growth in the last decade.

The table below presents the population of each municipality in 2016 and 2021 (from the Statistics Canada censuses on these years) and the estimated population in 2023 (from the Alberta Regional Dashboard). It also offers the average annual growth rates observed throughout the 2016 -2021 census period, and the 2-year period from 2021 to 2023, which is the last population data point available.

Municipality	2016 Population (StatCan)	2021 Population (StatCan)	2016-2021 Average Annual Growth Rate	Estimated 2023 Population (Alberta Regional Dashboard)	2021-2023 Average Annual Growth Rate
County of St. Paul	6,036	6,306	0.88%	6,446	1.10%
Town of St. Paul	5,827	5,863	0.12%	5,925	0.53%
Town of Elk Point	1,452	1,399	-0.74%	1,443	1.56%
Summer Village of Horseshoe Bay	49	81	10.58%	81	0%

While some municipalities in the region have experienced slower growth than others, the housing reality appears to be similar across the board. There is an increasing need for diverse housing types, both rentals and ownership, at different affordability levels to better meet the evolving needs of current and future residents. Providing a mix of housing types and tenures of varying levels of affordability is essential for creating diverse, inclusive, and healthy communities in the St. Paul region.

The County of St. Paul, the Town of St. Paul, the Town of Elk Point, and the Summer Village of Horseshoe Bay have engaged ISL Engineering and Land Services Ltd. (ISL) to better understand the current housing situation in each community and the region as a whole, and develop an action plan accordingly.

What is a Housing Strategy?

There are two parts to the Housing Strategy. The first part is completing a Housing Needs Assessment (HNA) to better understand the current housing situation in the region. The HNA will include information such as:

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Community Demographics

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Current housing supply and demand, including a range of housing options

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Condition of existing housing

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Rental vacancy rates

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Affordability

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Gaps in the housing market and opportunities to fill those needs

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Future housing needs

Current and future housing needs, gaps, and future priorities will be explored across the full housing continuum, which represents a range of housing options that can be available in a community. A depiction of this continuum is shown below.

The second part is the Regional Housing Strategy itself, which provides a roadmap to help the region and municipal partners create and maintain an affordable, safe, and suitable supply of housing. The Strategy will:

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Determine the affordable housing gap, identify current barriers for residents to access and keep a home that meets their needs, define the key housing issues, and prioritize actions to best address these issues

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Present a series of recommendations in alignment with the data compiled through the HNA

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Include policies, strategies, and approaches to address community-specific housing issues

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Explore opportunities for partnerships and confirm specific roles of key organizations and agencies providing services in the region

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Recommend an implementation plan with short- and long-term goals and performance indicators to measure success.

Both parts of the project involve engagement with the local community and interested and affected organizations.

Project Timeline

We Want to Hear From You

We are currently in Phase 1: Identifying Housing Needs

In Phase 1, we want to gather your input on what you are currently experiencing related to housing, and the ideas you may have to address housing needs. Some of the topics will include:

Housing gaps and current issues/barriers
Existing and future needs
Areas of priority
Housing goals and ideas to achieve the goals

Let’s Talk Housing! Provide your feedback on housing issues and opportunities in the region of St. Paul by participating in the engagement opportunities being offered between February 3 to 21, 2025.

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Starting February 3, click HERE to complete the survey or contact ISL at info@islengineering.com or (403) 254-0544 to request a printed copy.

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Drop in at one of the upcoming in-person Community Workshops to learn more about the project and share your thoughts. The same information will be shared at both workshops.