Tag Archives: Rural

Building Home and Sovereignty: Indigenous-Led Modular Housing Across Canada

Posted on by
Reply

Indigenous-led housing initiatives across Canada are demonstrating how culturally rooted design, workforce development and modular building technology can be combined to produce durable, energy-efficient homes while returning economic agency to Indigenous communities. A clear example is the Keepers of the Circle project in Kirkland Lake, a women-led social enterprise building a 24,000 square foot modular factory to produce prefabricated panels and whole homes for northern communities. The project positions the facility as a year-round training centre focused on Indigenous women and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people and aims to deliver passive, off-grid capable homes that reduce mould, overcrowding and winter construction constraints.  

Modular construction matters in the North because it shifts much of the work indoors, shortens on-site assembly time and allows for higher quality control and better insulation choices than conventional stick-built homes. Projects that couple those technical advantages with local control multiply the social return. For example, NUQO and other Indigenous-owned modular firms emphasize culturally informed design and female leadership in construction, showing that modularity can be adapted to Indigenous aesthetics and community needs rather than imposed as a one-size-fits-all solution.  

At a larger urban scale, the Squamish Nation’s Sen̓áḵw development shows another side of Indigenous-led housing. Sen̓áḵw is an unprecedented City-building project on reserve land in Vancouver that will deliver thousands of rental units while generating long-term revenue for the Nation and reserving units for community members. It signals how Indigenous land stewardship paired with contemporary development can both address housing supply and shift municipal relationships with Nations.

Innovation is not limited to factory scale or towers. Community-driven designs such as Skeetchestn Dodeca-Homes merge Secwepemc cultural principles with modular technology to create homes tailored for rural and on-reserve realities. These initiatives highlight the importance of design sovereignty, where communities set performance, materials and spatial priorities that reflect family structures and cultural practice.  

Practical collaborations are emerging to accelerate delivery. Rapid-response modular programs and partnerships with existing manufacturers have been used to deploy units quickly to remote communities, showing a template for scale if funding, transportation and on-reserve financing barriers are addressed. Yet systemic obstacles remain, including the complex financing rules for on-reserve mortgages, patchwork funding across provinces and the logistics of shipping large components into remote regions.  

Taken together, the landscape suggests a pragmatic pathway: support Indigenous-led factories and design teams to ensure cultural fit and local jobs, expand funding mechanisms and credit products tailored to on-reserve realities, and prioritize modular, high-performance assemblies that cut costs over a building’s life. When Indigenous governance, training and technical innovation work in tandem the result is not just more housing but a model of reconciliation that builds capacity, preserves culture and produces homes that last.

Sources
Keepers of the Circle modular factory page.
NUQO modular housing company.
Squamish Nation Sen̓áḵw project page.
Skeetchestn Dodeca-Homes project page.
ROC Modular rapid-response and modular housing examples.  

The Pros and Cons of Rural High-Speed Internet

Posted on by
Reply

November 2024 sees the installation of high-speed fibre internet at the farm. It wasn’t the advertised “simply plug and play” because it never is for a rural property, but we final got there after they realized they still had to hang the fiber along my rural road. As much as I love supporting local businesses, my current ISP has stated on multiple occasions that they have no intention of upgrading my network node. At half the monthly cost of the current line-of-site connection, and literally 150 times faster with unlimited usage, the choice to switch to a “no contract” special offer by one of the big telecoms was a no brainer.

The long-awaited surge of high-speed internet into rural Ontario is poised to change the socio-economic dynamics of these communities. For years, rural areas have lagged behind urban centers in digital connectivity, with the slow or unreliable internet often acting as a barrier to growth. The introduction of high-speed internet marks a shift, bridging the digital divide that has left so many rural residents, and businesses feeling isolated from modern opportunities.

For families, high-speed internet means improved access to online education, healthcare, and government services that are increasingly reliant on a robust digital infrastructure. Students who once struggled with spotty connections for virtual learning can now participate more fully in the digital classroom. Telehealth, a growing need in rural areas where healthcare access can be limited, will become more feasible, offering faster, more reliable consultations with healthcare providers.

Economically, this new connectivity can be transformative. Local businesses, particularly in agriculture and tourism, stand to benefit from streamlined operations, easier access to markets, and the potential to attract remote workers or digital entrepreneurs looking for affordable, peaceful living conditions. Rural Ontario’s ability to compete in a digital-first economy will get a significant boost, encouraging innovation and investment. The North Grenville Mayor Nancy Pickford has proposed that the Kemptville Campus should become an off-site work location for federal employees, while voicing concerning about the Ottawa “back to office work” mandate that would negatively impact the Township’s growing economy. The newly installed fibre in the rural township will enable Pickford’s vision to possibly keep those citizens working and shopping locally.

There are some who feel that the arrival of high-speed internet raises questions about the preservation of rural life. While connectivity opens doors, it may also accelerate the urbanization of these communities, changing the slow-paced, close-knit nature that defines rural living. Local towns and villages, here in eastern Ontario, are expanding rapidly with new suburban-style housing, in part because of the improved infrastructure, including high-speed internet. As rural Ontario embraces the digital world, it must also find a way to balance progress with its traditional values.

Update – Seems the ISP didn’t connect the farm to the correct junction box, and so now I am getting polite messages suggesting I finalize the self-installation process, even though the connection is currently up and running. The technician said he was going to deal with the issue, and so let’s see what happens.

Final Update – All is working perfectly. Apparently because the farm was connected to the wrong box the network assumed I had two hub connections, not just the one I was contracted for, and there was some interference happening. The ISP customer support reset a few switches, and all is now working as it should be. Having 1,500 Mbps instead of 10 Mbps is eye opening.