ONTARIO REWARDS HAMILTON WITH MORE THAN $17.5 MILLION FOR EXCEEDING 2023 HOUSING TARGETS

Funding can be used to invest in housing- or community-enabling infrastructure

NEWS MARCH 22, 2024

HAMILTON — Today, Premier Doug Ford announced that Ontario will be providing Hamilton with $17,587,390 in funding through the Building Faster Fund as the city has exceeded its 2023 housing target, breaking ground on a total of 4,142 new housing units last year.

“Hamilton is getting it done on housing and we are glad to reward them for their success,” said Premier Doug Ford. “I’m so proud of Mayor Andrea Horwath and her council colleagues for exceeding their housing targets last year. My challenge to Mayor Horwath and to every mayor in Ontario is to get even more homes built in the coming years so we can make life more affordable and keep the dream of homeownership alive for families across the province. We’ll be there to support you every step of the way.”

Announced in August 2023, the Building Faster Fund is a three-year, $1.2 billion program that is designed to encourage municipalities to address the housing supply crisis. The fund rewards municipalities that make significant progress against their targets by providing funding for housing-enabling and community-enabling infrastructure. Funding is provided to municipalities that have reached at least 80 per cent of their provincially assigned housing target for the year with increased funding for municipalities that exceed their target.

“It’s clear that Hamilton is working hard to facilitate the building of much needed housing,” said Andrea Horwath, Mayor of the City of Hamilton. “I am grateful to Council and staff for their commitment to meeting and exceeding our provincial housing target. There is no doubt that the people of our great City deserve access to stable housing they can afford. I remain steadfast in my commitment to fostering the growth of diverse housing options and ensuring every citizen has access to secure and affordable housing.”

The Building Faster Fund includes $120 million for small, rural and northern municipalities to help build housing-enabling infrastructure and prioritize projects that speed up the increase of housing supply.

Quick Facts

  • Ontario is investing historic amounts in housing- and community-enabling infrastructure to get more homes built across the province including the Building Faster Fund and the Ontario Community Infrastructure Fund. The province recently announced a new $1 billion Municipal Housing Infrastructure Program as well as quadrupling of the provincial Housing-Enabling Water Systems Fund to $825 million.
  • In 2023, Ontario reached 99 per cent of its target of 110,000 new homes, which includes housing starts, additional residential units and new and upgraded long-term care beds.
  • Ontario broke ground on 18,992 rental starts in 2023, the highest number of rental starts on record.
  • The province saw nearly 10,000 additional residential units created in 2023 – which includes changing single family homes into multi-unit residences or converting commercial office space into residential use – and nearly 10,000 new and upgraded long-term care beds.

Quotes

“I am pleased to see the City of Hamilton exceeding their housing target for 2023. Ensuring that every resident has an affordable place to call home is our government’s top priority and I am hopeful that with the support of these provincial funds, there will be even more homes built in Hamilton in the year ahead.”

– Donna Skelly 
MPP for Flamborough-Glanbrook

“I applaud the work being done by Hamilton and all the other municipalities that have met or exceeded their housing targets and I’m proud to see these communities helping lead the province when it comes to building homes. Our government is committed to reaching our goal of building 1.5 million homes by 2031 to make sure that everyone has an affordable place to call home.”

– Paul Calandra 
Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing

“The City of Hamilton has done a tremendous job in exceeding their housing target. That’s why our government is proud to invest back into this city to help build more homes. This investment will be vital in meeting the increased housing needs as more families choose Hamilton as their home. In Hamilton, we are getting it done.”

– Neil Lumsden 
MPP for Hamilton East-Stoney Creek

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