Nova Scotia has opened a fully occupied eight-unit housing complex for healthcare workers in Guysborough County, part of a provincial strategy to recruit and retain medical professionals in underserved communities.
The $2.3 million facility features one and two-bedroom units located near the Guysborough Memorial Hospital and community amenities. Officials say the housing has enabled them to fill critical healthcare positions and attract new professionals who otherwise could not afford to work in the area.
“Our healthcare professionals are committed and hard-working and I am thrilled to welcome them home to Guysborough,” said Greg Morrow, Minister of Agriculture and MLA for Guysborough-Tracadie. “Because of this housing that was specifically built for them, we’ve been able to fill critical healthcare positions and recruit new health professionals to our community who otherwise wouldn’t have been able to come.”
Addressing workforce housing barriers
The project tackles a key recruitment challenge facing rural healthcare employers: the lack of affordable housing that prevents qualified workers from accepting positions in smaller communities. The complex opened July 7 with all units occupied by healthcare workers.
The province also acquired a six-unit affordable housing project in nearby Boylston through partnership with the Community First: Guysborough County Housing Association. The Boylston site offers five two-bedroom units and one one-bedroom unit, with monthly rents ranging from $750 to $850.
Provincial investment in worker housing
The healthcare worker housing initiative represents a $45 million provincial investment designed to ensure medical professionals have access to safe and accessible housing across Nova Scotia. The Housing Trust of Nova Scotia oversees the program, with projects underway in Lunenburg, Bridgewater, Port Hawkesbury, Canso, Liverpool and New Glasgow.
“This initiative, which addresses both affordability and housing supply for key workers, will have an ongoing impact in Guysborough, Canso and other communities across the province,” said Angela Bishop, Executive Director of the Housing Trust of Nova Scotia.
The province contributed $627,000 to the Boylston project through the Community Housing Acquisition Program, which helps community housing providers purchase and preserve affordable rental units. An additional $13,700 came from the Province’s Community Housing Growth Fund.
Housing strategy yields results
Since 2023, Nova Scotia has invested more than $120 million in over 1,400 affordable units across the province. Under the broader Action for Housing plan, the province has supported creation of 51,352 new housing units since 2023.
“We couldn’t be more pleased to have accomplished so much in our first year of incorporation,” said Nancy O’Regan, board Chair of Community First: Guysborough County Housing Association. “Becoming affordable housing providers with the support and expertise of the team from the Province and the Municipality of the District of Guysborough gave us the foundation upon which to build future projects.”
The Guysborough complex represents a targeted approach to addressing workforce shortages in essential services by removing housing barriers that prevent skilled workers from accepting positions in rural communities.
