Sandra Boucher is beaming when she talks about her new one-bedroom apartment on Fredericton’s north side. She said the layout is gorgeous, complete with a beautiful kitchen and cupboards.
“It’s absolutely heaven being in this particular building,” she said. “I love it. And all my neighbors do, just because we all came from really old buildings.”
Boucher moved into a new 20-unit complex on Charles Avenue in October. A second building is under construction next door for larger family units.
It’s part of a provincewide push to get back into building public housing. But after decades of dormant growth, the public housing supply has stayed relatively the same, while demand for affordable units has skyrocketed.
There were 4,300 households on the waitlist for public housing back in 2020. That figure, according to the provincial government, has climbed to an all-time high of 14,000 households today.
A public housing complex for seniors opened in October 2025 on Charles Avenue in Fredericton. (Michael Heenan/CBC)
Residents in government-subsidized, social or public housing typically pay 30 per cent of their household income on rent.
It’s been a big help to Boucher, who lost her vision when she was 21. She said back then “no one would hire you anywhere.” Without a stable job, she said she was unable to afford a place on her own when her marriage ended just over a decade ago.
She waited about 16 months for a place to become available back then.
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