As a teenager, Joshua Boucher couldn’t have imagined owning a home in his 20s.
Surrounded by family and friends in his Transcona front yard Thursday, the now-24-year-old City of Winnipeg employee expressed gratitude for a program helping young Métis adults buy their first houses.
“It just really shows you what a community can do for people. It’s very honouring to be here,” Boucher said.
MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS FILES
David Chartrand, president of the Manitoba Metis Federation, said the organization’s first home program started as a way to build financial security for the next generation.
Boucher and Meghan Young, his partner, who is a master’s student at the University of Winnipeg, applied to the Manitoba Métis Federation’s First Time Home Purchase Program, which provides money for a down payment and legal fees, along with credit and banking supports when applying for a mortgage.
After searching for a few months, the couple bought their home in June.
It was the 1,000th home purchased through the program.
Young said it’s special to have her home in Transcona because of the strong Métis community living in the area, adding that it would’ve been impossible for them to buy without the MMF’s help.
“It’s a really tough market right now,” she said, crediting the MMF for helping to “get our beautiful home.”
The program was established in 2019 with the federation’s $13-million investment. As of Thursday, more than 2,100 people are living in 1,069 homes purchased with the MMF’s assistance.
More than 200 applications are currently under consideration.
The genesis of the program was to do something to provide financial security for the next generations of Métis, MMF president David Chartrand said.
“It will give them a head start; they never would have normally had a chance to get out and make sure to have a better life,” he said, pointing to the numbers as clear evidence of the effort’s success.
He suggested the MMF program can serve as a model in the search for possible solutions to Canada’s housing crisis.
The success comes from having families and Métis culture involved throughout the process.
“All they need is a little boost, because they’ve got family support behind them,” he said, adding previous investments have been made to help members of the community pursue post-secondary education and start meaningful careers.
The program is good for the province overall, he said.
“It’s a win-win for the economy, a win-win for all businesses and also for the government,” said Chartrand, adding that the MMF is helping to reduce some of the financial struggles Manitobans are experiencing.
Last month, the MMF purchased two office towers near Portage and Main. And the province signed a deal to transfer 100 acres of Crown land in Ste. Madeleine — about 340 kilometres west of Winnipeg — to the federation.
matthew.frank@freepress.mb.ca