New Housing Funding Announced by Carney and Ford

Prime Minister Mark Carney joined Premier Doug Ford and Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow on Monday to share plans for new infrastructure funding aimed at reducing expensive city development fees.

The prime minister revealed a plan – the Canada-Ontario Partnership to Build – where both the provincial and federal governments will invest $4.4 billion each in housing-related infrastructure over the next decade.

“We’re announcing this new Ontario-Canada partnership to build more homes, lower housing costs, tens of thousands of new careers in the building trades,” said Carney.

This amounts to a total of $8.8 billion, which marks the first funding agreement through the federal government’s Build Communities Strong Fund. This money is intended to help municipalities reduce development charges (DCs) by as much as 50 percent over the next three years.

“If you don’t cut DCs, you aren’t getting any money, I’ll simplify that,” said Ford. “But if you do, we will be there to support you.”

“By lowering taxes and fees that make new homes more expensive, we can get shovels in the ground and keep the dream of home ownership alive,” said Ford.

As this funding will be allocated over ten years, Carney mentioned that agreements with municipalities would allow them to spread out infrastructure costs rather than facing them all at once.

The West End Home Builders’ Association believes this initiative could change everything.

“Given how significant development charges are – in Hamilton they can be around $100,000,” said West End Home Builders’ Association CEO Mike Collins-Williams. “A 30-50 percent reduction here in Hamilton could save that new home buyer $30,000 to 50,000 on a new home.”

WATCH MORE: Ontario plans temporary boost to HST rebates on new homes in bid to energize sector

Hamilton’s Chamber of Commerce states that amidst ongoing trade challenges with the U. S., this could enhance jobs and economic growth within the city.

“It will, in the long term, make our community more affordable – that means people can work and live in our community,” said Hamilton Chamber of Commerce president Greg Dunnett. “It changes the math equation, and that math hasn’t been working for a lot of people and a lot of organizations for the past 18 to 24 months.”

In Burlington, officials have already been offering some relief from development costs. Burlington Mayor Marianne Meed Ward expressed optimism about benefiting from this new program as details emerge.

“This is a good step and this is part of a conversation about how we pay for infrastructure,” said Ward. “It does provide federal and provincial funding for infrastructure that gets housing built in partnership with municipalities while reducing some of those costs associated with buying a home.”

Last week, Ontario announced plans to collaborate with Ottawa to waive harmonized sales tax on eligible new builds for one year.

Both provincial and federal officials estimate these agreements could save up to $200,000 in taxes and fees when buying a new home.

Public transit improvements and transit infrastructure announcements

The Ontario government introduced the Building Homes and Improving Transportation Infrastructure Act. Municipal Affairs Minister Rob Flack stated it aims at “tackling red tape, reduce unnecessary costs and streamline approvals.”

If passed, this act would help lessen traffic congestion while simplifying public transit fares. It would also open High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes to more drivers while allowing rideshare services along communities adjacent to the Northlander corridor.

The federal government then revealed its plan for developing “GO 2.0,” aimed at increasing passenger service along freight-owned corridors throughout Greater Golden Horseshoe region.

This plan supports enhanced service along existing GO lines while considering potential creation of new ones.

Ford added his administration is collaboratively supporting planning efforts for advancing Alto High-Speed Rail initiative connecting Toronto with Quebec City.

The premier also highlighted priority transit projects within Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area involving execution of federal contribution agreements including Ontario Line, Eglinton Crosstown West Extension and Hamilton LRT.

Additonally announced was an expansion plan for Ontario’s One Fare program designed to prevent transit riders from incurring extra fares when switching between different transit systems across Greater Toronto Area.

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