BVRH Bulletin – March 2026- LARGE Format
Monthly Bulletin
March 2026
NEWS, INITIATIVES, AND EVENTS
2026 Budget Development
The 2026 Budget Development process is complete. The Board
approved the 2026 Continuing Care Operating Budget in
December and the 2026 Capital and Reserve Budget in February.
• Supportive Living and Continuing Care clients will see
inflationary increases of approximately 3% to lodge
accommodation and continuing care accommodation fees.
• Our combined 2026 operating budgets total approximately
$11.3 million, $10.1 million of which serves our Supportive
Living and Continuing Care clients in Banff and Canmore.
• Our total 2026 Municipal Requisition will support our lodge
supportive living programs and is expected to drop 1.7%
compared to 2025. Requisition levels have been quite stable
since 2021.
Continuing Care Wing Occupancy
The first floor continues to fill at a measured pace. As of writing
90% of the spaces are occupied but all are now available to the
program, and we anticipate full occupancy by the end of April.
2026 Social Housing Budgets – Received
The province has approved the following improvements to our
social housing budgets, which include our Seniors Self-Contained
(SSC), Community Housing (CH) and Rent Supplement (RS)
Programs:
• A 5% increase to the approved deficit funding for both SSC
and CH programs, which allows for an inflationary increase
to key operating costs.
• An 18% increase to the Rent Supplement program budget,
which allows us to add up to 10 households from the wait
list, bringing total number of households served up to
approximately 90 across the Bow Valley region.
PROGRAM OCCUPANCY RATES
Bow River Lodge – SL 100%
Bow River Lodge – CCHTB 92%
Cascade House 95%
Bow River Homes 100%
Mount Edith House 100%
Community Housing 100%
Rent Supplement 100%
SPECIAL PROJECTS
This is Home (Phase 3+)
We have applied to Alberta Assisted Living and Social Services’
Affordable Housing Partnership Program (AHPP) for grant funding and
project approval. Our proposal has been reinforced with an enhanced
business case developed in collaboration with a construction and
design firm, who shared expertise on a voluntary basis as part of a case
study they are working on. We are also preparing a submission to the
Federal Build Canada Homes program for low-interest funding using
the business case.
This project, if approved, will refresh much of our Community and
Seniors’ Independent Housing stock while adding different types and
affordability levels of housing to the region (in Canmore) and perhaps
elsewhere. We hope that the GOA will be able to approve the
opportunity here and that we will be able to collaborate with them,
the Town of Canmore, and ideally other Housing Agencies to address
some of the housing crisis in the Bow Valley.
RESOURCES
• If you or someone you know is in immediate danger, please call 911.
• For 24/7 nurse advice and general health information for Albertans
information on diseases, treatments, staying well, and healthcare services
dial 811.
• For 24/7 community program & service information, including
affordability programming in the Bow Valley dial 211.
• If you or someone you know is thinking about suicide, call or text 988.
ABOUT BOW VALLEY REGIONAL HOUSING
Bow Valley Regional Housing (BVRH) is a Housing Management
Body (HMB) serving the Government of Alberta and the Bow
Valley Region. HMB operational funding sources vary. Tenants pay
accommodation fees. Those fees are subject to affordability limits,
which prevent them from fully covering the costs of operations.
Provincial grants and municipal ratepayer requisitions subsidize
seniors lodge deficits, while the province also subsidizes deficits in
independent seniors and community housing.
As the HMB for the Bow Valley region, BVRH is responsible for
social housing, as well as affordable supportive living
accommodation for seniors throughout Kananaskis Country, the
Bow Corridor, the MD of Bighorn, and all of Banff National Park,
an area covering about 14,000 square kilometers.
All told, we currently house, or help to house approximately 500
residents of the Bow Valley in eight permanent housing projects
encompassing 33 separate buildings