Hidden under burned logs and ash, seeds from fallen trees will take root and grow again. Jasper, too, will slowly build back, piece by piece, until the picturesque mountain town devastated by this summer’s wildfire is rebuilt, residents say.

But locals not only want to restore what was lost, they also want to grow their community and rebuild in a way that addresses a housing shortage that has long priced anyone wanting to live and work in the town, especially year-round, out of the market.

“If Vancouver and Toronto think they have a problem with housing, try finding a place to live in Jasper,” said Stephen Nelson. The 65-year-old has been renting out single rooms in Jasper for the better part of the last 16 years, a few times teetering on the verge of homelessness.

But the couple says making that happen will in part hinge on a thriving tourism sector and that, in turn, depends on housing for staff and for those business owners who “run the machine.” Mr. Leitch said there needs to be viable options for people to stay for three months or three years.

“Now, we can give some genuine thought on how to best serve the people that are up at six o’clock in the morning or 10 o’clock at night rafting or cooking or serving or whatever they’re doing to be in such a beautiful place,” he said. “We need to take care of those people, to make it affordable, to make it nice so they can call it their home.”

Jasper is unique in that its boundary is constrained by Parks Canada regulations, therefore limiting physical expansion from its 118,222 square metres of developable land. For many years, the vacancy rate in the rental market has hovered at zero, leading in part to the town’s staffing crunch.

Jasper councillor Wendy Hall said there is urgency to rebuild the properties lost by flames but a broader conversation is also needed about changing land use and planning. She said it will ultimately fall to Parks Canada to decide if it will update the parameters.

“I hope they would help,” said Ms. Hall.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has called on the federal government to be “as flexible as possible,” including with the town’s boundary, to ensure adequate temporary housing is available in Jasper when residents are allowed to return.

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