In the Legislature today and later today at the NWT Association of Communities AGM, Minister Vince McKay will provide an update on the new Community Government funding allocations that will come into effect in April 2025.

In 2023, the Ministerial funding policies were updated to better reflect the current costs of typical community programs and services. Updates to the GNWT’s Community Funding Policies modernize distribution models to improve equity and transparency and add clarity to requirements for receiving community funding. These policies uphold the decision-making authority of elected community councils, allowing them to prioritize programs and services that best meet the needs of their residents.

Over the past year, the GNWT has been actively working to prepare for the implementation of these changes. The Department of Municipal and Community Affairs engaged with community governments on various implementation options. Minister Vince McKay also met with community leaders to receive feedback and insights firsthand.

The GNWT has incorporated these perspectives and made changes based on these consultations. The GNWT is now moving forward with implementation. These adjustments are being made to provide all community governments with a fair and equitable share of the funds.

 Quote

“The new community government funding models are designed to distribute available funding fairly and equitably based on services provided, equipment being used, and infrastructure within each community. While there is no new money, the implementation approach is intended to balance the interests of all parties. The GNWT will continue to advocate for increased funding for community governments to ensure core municipal services to residents are met.”

- Vince McKay, Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs

Quick facts

• The Department of Municipal and Community Affairs (MACA) distributes over $110 million annually to support community government programs and services through the Community Government Funding Policies: the Operations and Maintenance Funding Policy, the Water and Waste Services Funding Policy, and the Community Public Infrastructure Funding Policy, as well as $18 million from the Canada Community-Building Fund (CCBF). The total amount of funding to communities from the GNWT has not changed as a result of these policy updates.
• The GNWT’s funding is based on costs of core municipal infrastructure and services. The costs required to maintain services and infrastructure beyond what is required for core services is the responsibility of community governments. Core services include: the provision of water, the collection, treatment and disposal of sewage and garbage, fire protection, road maintenance, recreation, by-law enforcement, land use planning and administration to name a few.
• Community governments have decision-making authority over their programs and services. Each community government makes unique decisions about the programs and services they provide and the infrastructure they invest in, with some choosing to invest more heavily in new assets and others focusing more on the maintenance of existing ones based on their own priorities.
• These updates are reflective of more than 10 years of review, discussion and collaboration with elected officials, community government staff and the Northwest Territories Association of Communities.
• Operations and Maintenance funding levels will remain unchanged for the next three years, giving local governments time to assess priorities and adjust accordingly, with the exception being that community governments that have been receiving more than 100% of their funding allocation will be reduced to 100%.
• To address longstanding funding disparities, changes to Community Public Infrastructure and Water and Waste Services funding policies will be phased in over three years, starting April 1, 2025.  This will begin injecting much-needed capital dollars and funding to support core services.
• Based on the feedback received from community governments, the GNWT will also make further adjustments to the Community Public Infrastructure Policy to help address recruiting challenges related to staff housing needs.
• The GNWT will undertake further analysis of water and sewer rates with community governments to ensure this core service remains affordable to residents, meaning no immediate changes to water rates will be required at this time. 
• Across the country, the Northwest Territories (NWT) provides the highest per capita funding to municipalities. The NWT’s smaller communities – those with fewer than 500 total residents – have accumulated $76 million in unspent capital funding (the same amount as for all other communities combined).

Related links

• https://www.maca.gov.nt.ca/sites/maca/files/resources/community_public_infrastructure_funding_policy_-_2023.pdf
• https://www.maca.gov.nt.ca/sites/maca/files/resources/operations_and_maintenance_funding_policy_-_2023.pdf
• https://www.maca.gov.nt.ca/sites/maca/files/resources/water_and_waste_services_funding_policy_-_2023.pdf

For media requests, please contact:

Jay Boast
Senior Communications and Planning Advisor
Municipal and Community Affairs
Government of the Northwest Territories
Jay_Boast@gov.nt.ca
867-767-9162 ext. 21044