Markham receives $58M in federal housing funding
The City of Markham has received nearly $60 million in funding from the federal government to accelerate the construction of new housing units.
The federal government and the city announced they had reached an agreement to fast track the construction 1,640 housing units over the next three years. The work will help spur the construction of more than 6,630 homes over the next decade.
The agreement under the Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF), will provide $58.8 million to eliminate barriers to building housing. Markham’s Action Plan commits to seven initiatives that will help increase different housing types and density. This includes partnering with developers, permitting four units as-of-right citywide, increasing density around the city’s major transit stations, offering incentives to create additional residential units and affordable homes, modernizing application processing and reducing minimum parking requirements for new developments.
“The city is grateful for the support from the federal government to fast-track homes being built to address housing supply and affordability,” said Mayor Frank Scarpitti. “By working with our federal and provincial partners, the home building industry and the trades sector, we aim to increase the housing supply in a timely and streamlined manner to meet the needs of our community.”
Launched in March 2023, the HAF is a $4 billion initiative from the Government of Canada that will run until 2026-27.
The fund helps cut red tape and fast track at least 100,000 permitted new homes over the first three years, which cities and regions estimate will lead to the creation of more than 750,000 permitted new homes for people in towns, cities, and Indigenous communities across Canada over the next decade.
It asks for innovative action plans from local governments, and once approved, provides upfront funding to ensure the timely building of new homes, as well as additional funds upon delivering results.
As of September 30, 2023, the Government of Canada has committed over $38.89 billion to support the creation of over 152,000 units and the repair of over 241,000 units.