Housing industry leaders, community members and government representatives are convening at the second annual Regina Housing Conference. Hosted by the City of Regina, Tuesday’s event aims to help housing industry participants learn about the city’s housing strategy, network and access professional development opportunities for financing, sustainability and innovative development. “As Regina continues to grow, so does the need for diverse housing options that meet people where they are in life,” Mayor Chad Bachynski in a news release. “By bringing together industry leaders, community organizations and housing experts, this conference helps drive the collaboration and innovation needed to create more housing opportunities for all residents.” Some of the conference’s keynote speakers include representatives from Cowessess First Nation including community development director Barry Charlifoux and director of business development Rebecca Âcikahtê. “By creating a forum where professionals from all parts of the housing and development industry can connect, we facilitate innovation, cooperation, opportunity and growth – just what our community needs to continue to create housing options for residents,” said Bill Neher, the city’s manager of housing. Going forward, Neher expects to see more “innovative housing,” which he says can help with affordability. “It can’t be understated, the effect that the housing accelerator fund has had in terms of changing zoning bylaws, but also helping to try incentives, that will help increase housing.” President & CEO of Regina & Region Home Builders Association Stu Niebergall says affordable housing can be identified due to Saskatchewan public policy, PST rebates on new homes and the secondary suite incentive with 3,000 of those being built in the province, adding Regina has the fastest permitting times in the nation. Regina continues to be one of Canada’s most affordable cities across the country, with it being ranked fifth in Royal LePage’s affordable cities report for 2026. Niebergall says the biggest hurdle for affordable housing is the actual labour. “I’ve been doing this for 18 years, I’ve seen all sorts of programs from all levels of government that certainly are helping on the margins of this particular subject,” he said. “But there is no getting to affordable housing in this country or in this province, or in this city, without starting to do work on actually lowering the cost of construction.” The Federal Housing Accelerator fund has financed the conference for the past two years, but the grant expires after 2027 - the city would like to continue the event going forward. The sold-out event is being held at the Conexus Arts Centre.
