THUNDER BAY — Bridging communication gaps and sharing ideas and expertise on how to better housing in Indigenous communities is at the core of a three-day conference taking place in Thunder Bay this week.
The 2025 First Nations Housing Conference runs from Feb. 4 to 6 at the Valhalla Hotel and Conference Centre. The event brings together field experts and housing professionals, community members and leaders, government representatives, builders and contractors, suppliers, and many other stakeholders under one roof with the goal of improving housing in First Nations.
“We want to hear from the home occupants and the communities and the community members,” said Clarence Meekis, who is part of the conference’s planning committee and also is the public works manager with Keewaytinook Okimakanak. “Often we get stuck in either government-administered or a kind of a top-down approach to how we administer housing.”
“So, our goal here is to hear from the people that we mean to serve and develop housing for, and bridge gaps and challenges in communication or process in, getting new housing or better housing for the communities.”
Invitees are from Indigenous communities and those who live off-reserve, Meekis added.
The three-day conference features numerous presentations and workshops on issues ranging from building codes, construction contracts and strategic planning, to fire safety, electricity and power and carpentry and apprenticeship training. Organizations like Nishnawbe Aski Nation, the Assembly of First Nations and Chiefs of Ontario were also on the schedule. The agenda also included a trade show featuring over 70 exhibitors, a “builders challenge” with a focus on Indigenous youth (and featuring celebrity renovator Jon Eakes) and recognition awards for recently-completed housing projects.
The conference is in its 22nd year, Meekis said, starting here in Northwestern Ontario in the early 2000s through efforts by several local tribal councils and grew from there. He added that this year, over 300 delegates from multiple provinces and at least one territory are in the city. “I would say in the last five years it’s grown to become a national event,” he said.
“It's become renowned in that way and I feel like a lot of it is because it's focused for home occupants as well,” Meekis continued. “It's not just industry professionals, it's stakeholders across the whole spectrum of housing that we see.”
From a housing perspective, the conference has “something for everybody,” he said.
“We want to make sure we're sharing information that remains achievable for the people that are listening and the audiences that are here,” Meekis said.
“We don't want to make anything beyond reach, because we really want to improve housing for the members as well and their ability to do that with their own planning and effort.”