The provincial and federal governments have revealed a new collaboration aimed at making homeownership more affordable: The Canada-Ontario Partnership to Build.
Over the next ten years, both levels of government will commit $8.8 billion to these new initiatives.
Regarding housing, the two main focuses of the partnership are reducing municipal development charges for builders and enhancing sales tax rebates for homebuyers.
During Monday’s announcement, Prime Minister Mark Carney described this partnership as one that “leverages our different capacities, our different jurisdictional responsibilities to achieve the same goals: more homes, lower housing costs, tens of thousands of new careers in the skilled trades.”
Many municipalities across Ontario rely on development charges to help fund infrastructure projects such as public transit and road maintenance.
“If you are in the business, you know about them, and if you’re buying a home, you pay for them,” Carney explained.
The funds from this partnership program will encourage municipalities to lower or eliminate their development charges by covering funding shortfalls with subsidy money.
At the announcement, Premier Doug Ford stated that municipalities willing to reduce development charges or those that have already done so would receive more funding for infrastructure and housing compared to those that do not.
“To all my great 444 mayors and people in the municipalities, if you don’t cut development charges, you aren’t getting any money,” said the premier. “But if you do, we will be there to support you.”
On another note, this new partnership also offers expanded rebates for homebuyers on the provincial Harmonized Sales Tax (HST).
Homebuyers will get a full rebate for the 13 percent HST on homes valued at up to $1 million.
For homes priced between $1 million and $1.5 million, buyers can now access a maximum rebate of $130,000.
This partnership also aims to back new infrastructure projects in southern Ontario. This includes a planned waterfront transit line in Toronto, an expansion of the Ontario GO train service, and a high-speed rail project connecting Toronto with Quebec City.
Sam Goldstein is a 2025 graduate of the Seneca Polytechnic journalism program. Sam’s great passions are for history, politics, and food. Born and raised in Toronto, he works as a multimedia journalist in Thunder Bay. You can reach him at goldsteins@radioabl. ca.
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