Ontario signals changes to fund that helps municipalities get housing built
Ontario's housing minister says he will be making changes to a housing fund for municipalities that many have said unfairly measures their progress on building.
Rob Flack is signalling in a speech to the Association of Municipalities of Ontario conference in Ottawa that he will 'extend and improve' the Building Faster Fund but says details will come after he consults with mayors.
The fund rewards municipalities that achieve at least 80 per cent of a housing target the provincial government assigns and gives them money to put toward housing-enabling infrastructure – often coming by way of a novelty cheque from Flack or Premier Doug Ford.
But some municipalities say that rewarding or leaving out cities and towns based on when construction starts is unfair, because while municipalities are responsible for approvals, they can't control when a builder starts a project.
The fund is one of many ways the government has been trying to spur home building, as Ontario is well off the pace of home building that's needed to achieve Ford's goal of getting 1.5 million homes built by 2031.
Ford announced Monday at the conference that the province is putting $1.6 billion more toward the Municipal Housing Infrastructure Program, which helps municipalities get housing built.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 19, 2025.
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