Three municipalities collect more than $12M in infrastructure funding
Three more Ontario municipalities have received funding boosts from the provincial government after making progress on their 2023 housing targets.
The government announced on March 11 that it would provide $1.88 million to the City of Peterborough for exceeding its 2023 housing target. The city broke ground on 506 new housing units last year.
“Peterborough City Council and staff are deeply committed to exceeding our housing targets each year and will continue to take ambitious steps to do so,” said Peterborough Mayor Jeff Leal. “I want to thank the Government of Ontario for their partnership on this key priority, and for investing in critical infrastructure that will help make more housing units possible in our community.”
The City of St. Catharines, meanwhile, will receive $2.3 million in funding through the Building Faster Fund as a reward for breaking ground on 648 new housing units in 2023.
“This is another example of the strong partnership being formed between the City of St. Catharines and the provincial government,” said Mayor Mat Siscoe. “These funds are earmarked for tackling the infrastructure obstacles we've previously outlined, enabling the development community to sustain the momentum in constructing housing within St. Catharines. I applaud the Province of Ontario for recognizing and addressing the concerns raised by municipalities.”
Finally, the Town of Milton will collect $8.4 million for exceeding its 2023 housing target. The town broke ground on 1,952 new housing units last year.
“Milton is one of the fastest-growing communities in Canada and our government is proud to invest in its future,” said Premier Doug Ford. “This $8.4 million reward through the Building Faster Fund will help Milton support its continued growth, as will our government’s plan to build Highway 413 and extend all-day, two-way GO train service along the Milton line.”
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.