Ontario Construction News staff writer
The Ontario government is awarding the City of Guelph more than $3.69 million through the second round of the Building Faster Fund, citing the municipality’s progress toward provincially set housing targets.
Guelph will receive $3.7 million after breaking ground on 1,279 new homes in 2024, surpassing 85 per cent of its annual housing target. Municipalities must reach at least 80 per cent of their targets to qualify for funding under the program.
Guelph Mayor Cam Guthrie said the funding will support the city’s efforts to expand housing supply and invest in supporting infrastructure.
The Building Faster Fund, announced in August 2023, is a three-year, $1.2-billion initiative intended to encourage faster housing approvals and construction. Funding is provided to municipalities for housing- and community-enabling infrastructure.
Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Rob Flack says the program is intended to accelerate housing construction while supporting infrastructure investment.
Ontario has also announced more than $2 million in Guelph through the Municipal Housing Infrastructure Program. The province says that funding will help enable the construction of nearly 2,000 new homes.
According to the province, Ontario recorded 18,103 rental housing starts between January and October 2025, an increase of more than 34 per cent compared with the same period in 2024. The government has also extended the deadline for municipalities to spend Building Faster Fund allocations to 2028.
The province is proposing to rebate the provincial portion of the HST for first-time buyers of most new homes valued up to $1 million, subject to the passage of federal legislation.
