Mr. Speaker, I believe our government has been very clear in budget 2016 about our plans to invest in affordable housing, and I will take advantage of the opportunity that the member for Nanaimo—Ladysmith provides me to reiterate our commitment to affordable housing for the benefit of members on all sides of the House.
During last year's election campaign, the Prime Minister promised that a Liberal government would re-establish federal leadership in affordable housing and create a comprehensive national housing strategy to help ensure that all Canadians have access to the housing they need. This is exactly what we are doing. With the budget that was tabled by the Minister of Finance last month, I am proud to say that we are taking concrete steps toward fulfilling this commitment.
In the short term, budget 2016 provides $2.3 billion in funding for affordable housing to help boost Canada's economic growth, build stronger communities, and help tens of thousands of families access housing that is safe and affordable. This funding is over and above the $2 billion the federal government already spends on housing each and every year and will be targeted to address some of the most pressing housing needs facing low-income and other vulnerable Canadians across the country.
These new investments include more than $504 million to create and renovate affordable housing and improve housing affordability, over $200 million to build or renovate affordable housing for low-income seniors, $90 million to build or renovate more than 3,000 shelter spaces for victims of domestic violence, $574 million to repair and improve the energy and water efficiency of existing social units, up to $30 million to renew subsidies on a transitional basis for all federally administered social housing projects with operating agreements expiring in the next two years, and $554 million to improve housing conditions for first nations people living on reserve. The list goes on. There is $178 million to address the unique housing challenges in the north and Inuit communities, and $111 million to tackle homelessness. These are significant investments and they will all be delivered over the next two years to address urgent housing needs across the country.
Budget 2016 also includes two important initiatives to support the construction of affordable rental housing. First, we will create a new affordable rental housing innovation fund, with funding of $208 million over five years, to test innovative business approaches to lower the costs and risks of financing for affordable rental housing projects. The second initiative, the proposed affordable rental housing financing initiative, would provide up to $2.5 billion in low-cost loans over five years to municipalities and housing developers during the earliest and riskiest phase of development.
As we deliver these immediate investments, we will also be developing a comprehensive and forward-looking national housing strategy that will promote innovative new approaches to diverse housing challenges and opportunities that exist across Canada. In this context, the federal government will be engaging the provinces and territories, indigenous communities, and other housing stakeholders across the country in the coming months.