Ottawa will receive $37.5 million from the province in recognition of the “substantial progress” the city has made toward its 2023 housing target by breaking ground on 10,313 new housing units last year.
Premier Doug Ford made the announcement today in Ottawa.
“This announcement is another clear sign of our government’s commitment to Ottawa, building on last week’s historic new deal,” said Ford in a news release. “My challenge to Mayor (Mark) Sutcliffe 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.”
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“This provincial funding will help Ottawa create the conditions for builders and community agencies to build homes faster. We have an ambitious but achievable target that I believe we can reach by working together,” said Mayor Sutcliffe.
The funding comes through the Building Faster Fund, a three-year, $1.2-billion program announced last August 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.
“We should all be proud of the leadership role Ottawa has taken by breaking ground on 10,313 homes in 2023, more than any other municipality in the province with the exception of Toronto,” said Goldie Ghamari, MPP for Carleton. “The suburbs of Stittsville and Riverside South are among the fastest growing communities in the city, while Manotick, Richmond and Greely have been exemplary in the way they have planned major housing development projects that will protect and enhance their rural village character.”
“Barrhaven has been the fastest-growing community in our region for quite some time, so I know explosive growth comes with significant costs,” said Nepean MPP Lisa MacLeod. “Our government’s commitment of over $37 million acknowledges, supports and encourages that growth, while also encouraging more housing starts to respond to increasing needs and expectations toward housing affordability.”
Last week, the province and the city reached a “new deal” that will provide the nation’s capital with up to $543 million in operating and capital funding to fuel economic recovery and accelerate the revitalization of the downtown core.
