Mayors from Ontario’s major cities are gathered in Ottawa for the annual conference of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario.
The event started on Sunday and runs through Wednesday, featuring several mayors from the Golden Horseshoe region.
Mayors from Niagara Region, including Niagara Falls Mayor Jim Diodati and St. Catharines Mayor Mat Siscoe, are there to continue conversations about flood recovery assistance.
Meanwhile, Hamilton Mayor Andrea Horwath mentioned she plans to talk about important issues like housing, homelessness, and emergency preparedness.
This week, she will also be advocating for support to establish a Youth Wellness Centre in Hamilton.
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Burlington Mayor Marianne Meed Ward is also present and aims to push for Burlington’s priorities such as housing, complete communities, transportation, infrastructure, and more.
Ontario’s Acting Minister of Infrastructure Todd Mc Carthy announced a $1-billion investment aimed at helping municipalities that don’t charge development fees with infrastructure upgrades for housing.
“This is to support the construction of new homes and to preserve the province’s existing housing supply in municipalities that do not levy development charges,” said Mc Carthy. “The first intake will open for applications on Oct. 29, and projects will be selected in spring 2027 because we know the demand for funding is significant. We will be announcing additional intakes at a later date as we continue to navigate economic uncertainty and unwarranted U. S. tariffs.”
“The need for all levels of government to work together has never been more important.”
Each level of government will contribute $500 million toward creating a new stream of the Municipal Housing Infrastructure program.
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