That's great.
The Nunavut Housing Corporation was established pre-division as the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation in approximately 1972 by the territorial government, through recognition that housing was a priority concern and, as such, deserved some undivided attention. The business of the Nunavut Housing Corporation is mainly administered through local housing organizations established in each of the 25 communities that comprise Nunavut. In most cases, these organizations were in place prior to the formation of organized municipal governments, so they are well established as client service providers to address the residential housing needs of Nunavummiut.
Nunavut, to put it in context, comprises roughly 34,000 people in population, spread among 25 isolated communities that have no road or rail access, over a land mass that is 1.9 million square kilometres. That's double the size of Ontario, for 20% of Canada's land mass, and it covers three time zones. So we have some logistical challenges in providing our services.
Populations in these isolated communities range from 140 to 2,310, with the largest community being Iqaluit, the capital city, with a population of 6,740, based on the last census. The Government of Nunavut is the principal supplier of the 9,400 residential dwelling units in the territory. The number of dwellings per community ranges from 60 to 800 in most communities, with the largest number again being in Iqaluit, with 2,560 dwellings.
The Government of Nunavut, through the Nunavut Housing Corporation, currently maintains approximately 4,400 public housing rent-geared-to-income units, of which 4,170 are owned by the Nunavut Housing Corporation and 264 are leased. We also manage 1,350 government staff housing units. Roughly 250 of those are owned by the Nunavut Housing Corporation and 1,100 are leased. As well, we hold mortgages for 500 homeowners through a variety of home ownership support programs.
This represents over 65% of Nunavut's total residential housing stock. That's quite a different picture than you would see in most Canadian jurisdictions. Owner-occupied dwellings represent only approximately 20% of all housing. As well, government staff housing comprises a sizable portion of the housing stock, especially in the regional centres. There is, especially outside the capital city of Iqaluit, practically a non-existent private rental market.
So the numbers I'm presenting to you are in effect demonstrating the lack of housing options in most communities. They're very limited in the capital city, but in the smaller isolated communities there are even fewer housing options besides what is provided by government.
We have benefited greatly from a federal influx of housing dollars to build with and to add to our portfolio and our stock. Through the Northern Housing Trust, $200 million was provided to Nunavut, and we now are at the completion of building 725 new public housing rent-geared-to-income units. Under Canada's economic action plan, another $100 million was made available to Nunavut, and 285 new public housing units are being built as a result of this. So our owned public housing stock will grow to approximately 4,650 as a result of this influx, which comprises basically a 30% increase in our public housing stock.
In partnership with the Nunavut Bureau of Statistics and Statistics Canada, we've just recently completed a Nunavut housing needs survey. This was done on a census basis in 24 of the 25 communities and on a sample basis in Iqaluit. This comprised a total of 75 local interviewers being hired. That way, every building used as a residence was able to be identified and included in the survey.
Of all occupied dwellings, 35% are considered crowded, as per these results. This is compared to 6% when looking at all of Canada, based on the 2006 census. The lowest overcrowding is in Grise Fiord, a community of 140 people, but overcrowding still remains at 15% in these units. The second-lowest overcrowding number is in Iqaluit, at 20%.
The largest problem is among the public housing units: 50% of public housing units are deemed to be overcrowded, based on national housing standards. These public housing units comprise more than 50% of all residential housing in Nunavut. Of the people in public housing who are considered overcrowded, 2,990 family groups indicated that they would move out into another home if alternative housing were available. Again, Nunavut's main problem is one of lack of supply. Based on the 2006 census, compared to 7% for all of Canada, 23% of households indicated a need for major repair.
For homeowners in small communities, one of the mitigating factors is a lack of local contractors.... If the majority of the housing in these communities is comprised of public housing, which is administered and maintained through local housing organizations, then there is a very small pool of homeowners from which a contractor could draw to try to make his business viable. So many community contractors do not see this as being a viable business and they do not establish and continue.
So in looking at the two factors of adequacy and suitability, 49% of housing in Nunavut is either crowded or in need of major repairs. Based on the waiting list, on the public housing waiting list currently there are 3,780 people.