The Ontario government announced it is expanding ‘strong mayor’ powers to 21 municipalities projected to have populations of 50,000 by 2031 and whose heads of council are committed to a provincially assigned housing target. Launched in 2022, Strong mayor powers offer tools to help heads of council cut red tape and speed up the delivery of key shared municipal-provincial priorities such as housing, transit and infrastructure in their municipalities.
The expansion will take effect on October 31, 2023, making these new additions eligible for funding through the ‘Building Faster Fund‘, a three-year, $1.2 billion program to support municipalities that are on track to meet 2032 provincial housing targets. Those that reach 80 per cent of their annual target per year will become eligible for funding based on their share of the overall goal of 1.5 million homes. Municipalities that exceed their target will receive a bonus on top of their allocation.
“With these new measures, we’re supporting municipalities and giving them the tools they need to build more homes faster to tackle the affordability crisis that’s pricing too many people, especially young families and newcomers, out of the dream of home ownership,” said Premier Doug Ford. “We have two choices: We can sit back and ignore the crisis, or we can build more homes. Our government is choosing to build homes.”
According to the backgrounder, funding from the Building Faster Fund can be directed toward housing-enabling infrastructure and other related costs that support community growth. Eligible expenses will be determined following consultations between the province, the Association of Municipalities of Ontario, the City of Toronto and the Housing Supply Action Plan Implementation Team. A portion of the overall funding will also be allocated to single and lower tier municipalities that have not been assigned a housing target, including small, rural and northern communities, in order to address their unique needs, following municipal consultations.
“There is an urgent need to get more homes built quickly across Ontario,” said Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Steve Clark. “By providing additional financial resources to our municipal partners as well as strong mayor powers to help speed up the approvals process, our government is acting decisively to tackle Ontario’s housing supply crisis and build the homes our residents need and deserve.”
The 29 municipalities assigned housing targets in 2022 and the 21 municipalities with newly assigned housing targets represent more than 88 per cent of the provincial target of 1.5 million homes. In 2022, the Ontario government said it saw the second-highest number of housing starts since 1988, with just over 96,000 new homes. Ontario also broke ground on nearly 15,000 new purpose-built rentals, the highest number ever on record.
