Province investing up to $18.3 million in infrastructure to enable nearly 4,000 homes
PRINCE EDWARD COUNTY — The Ontario government is investing up to $18.3 million to enable the construction of 3,895 new homes in Prince Edward County. The funding is being delivered through the first round of investments under the Housing-Enabling Water Systems Fund, which includes $970 million to help municipalities develop, repair, rehabilitate and expand drinking water, wastewater and stormwater infrastructure that will enable the construction of more homes.
“We’re working with our municipal partners here in Prince Edward County and across Ontario to get more homes built faster,” said Premier Doug Ford. “With billions of dollars in investments in housing-enabling infrastructure, our government is helping get more shovels in the ground to keep the dream of homeownership alive and help families find a home that meets their needs and their budgets.”
The County of Prince Edward will use the funding to help build the new Wellington Regional Water Treatment Plant that will replace the local water treatment plants in Wellington and Picton and deliver clean water to residents in the community. The project will support the county’s growing population, unlock more housing opportunities and support economic growth.
“By investing in drinking water treatment facilities and connecting pipes to land, we are helping municipalities build 511,000 new homes through the Housing-Enabling Water Systems Fund, including nearly 4,000 homes through this project here in Prince Edward County,” said Kinga Surma, Minister of Infrastructure. “Building Ontario means building more homes and homes can’t be built without connections to clean drinking water.”
In response to the significant demand for investments in water and wastewater infrastructure to enable the construction of more homes and after consulting with municipalities, the government is allocating an additional $250 million to the Housing-Enabling Water Systems Fund. This brings Ontario’s total investment in the fund to $1.2 billion, and the province is currently accepting a second round of applications through the fund. Under the second intake, $120 million will be reserved for projects in small, rural and northern municipalities without housing targets.
In this year’s budget, Ontario announced more than $1.8 billion in housing-enabling infrastructure funding through the Housing-Enabling Water Systems Fund and the Municipal Housing Infrastructure Program, in addition to the province’s Building Faster Fund, which rewards municipalities for progress toward their housing targets.