Ontario Construction News staff writer
The provincial and federal governments say they’ve reached a deal under the national housing strategy that will unlock $357 million in federal funding for the province.
The announcement comes after months of back and forth between the two levels of government over Ontario’s affordable housing targets.
Ottawa had said it would withhold some affordable housing funding from the province because it didn’t meet its targets and had an inadequate action plan.
Instead, the federal government said it would bypass the province and give the money directly to municipalities.
A joint statement issued Tuesday says the deal includes a revised action plan from Ontario that includes more data and insights as to which housing projects benefitted from provincial investment.
“We are pleased to share that an agreement has been reached on a revised action plan from Ontario that will unlock $357 million of federal funding under the National Housing Strategy (NHS),” the federal and provincial housing ministers said in a statement.
“Ontario has submitted a revised Action Plan under the bilateral agreement, which provides more robust data and insights as to which housing projects benefitted from provincial investment.”
New measures “better reflect Ontario’s funding delivery model, as the only jurisdiction which flows the funds through municipal service managers.
New measures include:
- establishing provincial supply targets with service managers
- directing funding toward new projects
- setting annual goals
- implementing robust data collection and reporting mechanisms
Also, Ontario will submit an action plan for 2025-2028 by Dec. 31 to secure continued federal funding for the remainder of the 10-year National Housing Strategy agreement.
Ottawa had said it would withhold some affordable housing funding from the province because it didn’t meet its targets and had an inadequate action plan.
Instead, the federal government said it would bypass the province and give the money directly to municipalities.
Ontario had argued the federal government wasn’t counting its progress properly.