Latest news with #AssociationOfMunicipalitiesOfOntario
CTV News
7 hours ago
- Business
- CTV News
Ontario signals changes to fund that helps municipalities get housing built
PC MPP Rob Flack attends Question Period at Queen's Park in Toronto, on Tuesday, May 13, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Cole Burston 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.
Globe and Mail
7 hours ago
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Ontario plans to introduce changes to housing fund for municipalities
Ontario is planning to make changes to a housing fund for municipalities that many have said unfairly measures their progress on building, the minister signalled in a speech Tuesday. Rob Flack told the Association of Municipalities of Ontario conference in Ottawa that he is going to consult with mayors and the association to 'extend and improve' the Building Faster Fund. 'That includes ensuring the fund reflects the new market we are in, as well as encouraging municipalities to cut development charges and get shovels in the ground faster on key infrastructure projects,' he said. 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. Ottawa is quietly working on launching a new entity it hopes will be key to housing affordability This past year, just 23 of the 50 municipalities with assigned targets hit their thresholds, down sharply from 32 the previous year. 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. Clarington, Ont., missed qualifying for what the mayor said would be $4 million in funding by just 13 housing units. 'All of the big city mayors have the same concern,' Mayor Adrian Foster said in a recent interview. 'I think Clarington has something like 7,000 permits that could be pulled, or very easily pulled by developers with a minimal amount of work. We can't force developers to pull the permits even after we've approved those permits. So there are a variety of problems with using starts. We're being held accountable for something we can't control, and not getting credit for the stuff that we can control.' Foster said Clarington actually surpassed the 80 per cent threshold, but Ontario is using faulty data based on an undercount by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. He is hopeful that discussions about it with the province will remedy the issue, but is frustrated because the same issue happened last year, with Clarington not qualifying for the funding at first. 'It is déjà vu all over again,' he said. Opinion: Why Ontario is the problem child in Canada's housing crisis 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. Ontario only reached about 75 per cent of its interim target for getting 125,000 homes built in 2024, even after it tacked on about 20,000 long-term care beds, retirement home suites, post-secondary student housing beds and additional residential units to its count of traditional housing starts. CMHC figures released Monday show the country's annual pace of housing starts in July rose four per cent year-over-year, but in Ontario there was a decline of 28 per cent. 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.
CBC
11 hours ago
- Business
- CBC
Ontario signals changes to fund that helps municipalities get housing built
Ontario is planning to make changes to a housing fund for municipalities that many have said unfairly measures their progress on building, the minister signalled in a speech Tuesday. Rob Flack told the Association of Municipalities of Ontario conference in Ottawa that he will consult with mayors and the association to "extend and improve" the Building Faster Fund. "That includes ensuring the fund reflects the new market we are in, as well as encouraging municipalities to cut development charges and get shovels in the ground faster on key infrastructure projects," he said. 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. This past year, just 23 of the 50 municipalities with assigned targets hit their thresholds, down sharply from 32 the previous year. Ontario using 'faulty data' to count units: Clarington mayor Some municipalities say 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. Clarington, Ont., missed qualifying for what the mayor said would be $4 million in funding by just 13 housing units. "All of the big city mayors have the same concern," Mayor Adrian Foster said in a recent interview. "I think Clarington has something like 7,000 permits that could be pulled, or very easily pulled by developers with a minimal amount of work. We can't force developers to pull the permits even after we've approved those permits. So there are a variety of problems with using starts. "We're being held accountable for something we can't control, and not getting credit for the stuff that we can control." Foster said Clarington actually surpassed the 80 per cent threshold, but Ontario is using faulty data based on an undercount by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. He is hopeful that discussions about it with the province will remedy the issue, but is frustrated because the same issue happened last year, with Clarington not qualifying for the funding at first. "It is deja vu all over again," he said. 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. Ontario only reached about 75 per cent of its interim target for getting 125,000 homes built in 2024, even after it tacked on about 20,000 long-term care beds, retirement home suites, post-secondary student housing beds and additional residential units to its count of traditional housing starts. CMHC figures released Monday show the country's annual pace of housing starts in July rose four per cent year-over-year, but in Ontario there was a decline of 28 per cent. 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.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Ontario increasing funding for housing-enabling infrastructure
Ontario Premier Doug Ford says the province is putting $1.6 billion more toward funds for municipalities to help them get housing built. Ford told the Association of Municipalities of Ontario conference Monday in Ottawa that the government has already put $2.3 billion toward its Municipal Housing Infrastructure Program, which goes toward housing-enabling infrastructure. Municipalities apply through four streams, including one for building roads and bridges, and another for building water and wastewater systems. 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. The government recently updated its housing tracker for the first time in eight months, and it shows that construction was started on 94,753 housing units in 2024 — well below its interim goal for that year of 125,000 homes — even after adding construction such as long-term care homes and university dorms to the count. Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. figures released Monday say the country's annual pace of housing starts in July rose four per cent year-over-year, but in Ontario there was a decline of 28 per cent. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 18, 2025. Allison Jones, The Canadian Press Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
CBC
2 days ago
- Business
- CBC
Ontario municipalities getting $1.6B more for housing as province lags on housing starts
Ontario Premier Doug Ford says the province is putting $1.6 billion more toward funds for municipalities to help them get housing built. Ford told the Association of Municipalities of Ontario conference Monday in Ottawa that the government has already put $2.3 billion toward its Municipal Housing Infrastructure Program, which goes toward housing-enabling infrastructure. Municipalities apply through four streams, including one for building roads and bridges, and another for building water and wastewater systems. 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. The government recently updated its housing tracker for the first time in eight months, and it shows that construction began on 94,753 housing units in 2024 — well below its interim goal of 125,000 homes for that year — even after adding construction on long-term care homes and university dorms to the count. Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation figures released Monday say the country's annual pace of housing starts in July rose four per cent year-over-year, but in Ontario there was a decline of 28 per cent.
