The federal government has reached an agreement with the City of London, Ont, to fast-track the creation of over 2,000 additional housing units over the next three years, and build thousands more in the years to come. This marks the first agreement under the Housing Accelerator Fund, which launched earlier this year under the National Housing Strategy.
“Everyone deserves a good place to call home—that’s why we’re cutting red tape and funding new ways to build more homes, faster. Especially affordable homes,” said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. “This landmark agreement with London will be the first of many, and we look forward to working with all orders of government to help everyone find a place to call their own.”
The Fund is providing London with $74 million to increase the city’s housing supply; this includes removing barriers to allow for high-density development without the need for re-zoning, allowing up to four units to be built on a single property in low-density neighbourhoods, disposing of city-owned land for more development, and creating partnerships with non-profit housing providers to build more affordable homes. The plan will deliver more homes close to public transit, more rental units for students, and more housing, ranging from duplexes and triplexes to small apartment buildings.
“This is the most significant investment in housing and housing-related infrastructure in London’s history. And the need in our community could not be greater,” said London Mayor, Josh Morgan. “London is the fastest growing city in Ontario, driven in large part by a thriving manufacturing expansion across our region. The Housing Accelerator Fund will help London meet the needs this growth demands, and that Londoners deserve. We believe housing is a human right, and together with the federal government, we will use this funding to drive overall housing supply with strong connectivity to transit networks, incentivize commercial conversions in our Core Area, bolster our Health and Homelessness System Response, and modernize our approvals processes to move even faster.”
About the Housing Accelerator Fund
Launched in March 2023, the Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF) is a $4 billion initiative from the Government of Canada designed to help cities, towns, and Indigenous governments unlock new housing supply through innovative approaches. Running until 2026-27, it asks for “innovative action plans” from local governments, and once approved, provides upfront funding to ensure the timely building of new homes, and additional funds upon delivering results. Every agreement under the Housing Accelerator Fund will require municipalities to end exclusionary zoning and encourage apartment building around public transit to help seniors, students, and families.
Find out more at: www.placetocallhome.ca
