Funding can be used to invest in housing- and community-enabling infrastructure
MILTON — Premier Doug Ford announced Ontario will be providing Milton with $8,400,000 in funding through the Building Faster Fund as the city has exceeded its 2023 housing target, breaking ground on a total of 1,952 new housing units last year.
“Milton is one of the fastest-growing communities in Canada and our government is proud to invest in its future,” said Premier Doug Ford. “This $8.4 million reward through the Building Faster Fund will help Milton support its continued growth, as will our government’s plan to build Highway 413 and extend all-day, two-way GO train service along the Milton line.”
Announced in August 2023, the Building Faster Fund is a three-year, $1.2 billion program that is designed 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.
“Milton is one of Ontario’s most rapidly expanding areas, and we remain dedicated to increasing the housing supply as a key component of building a complete community,” said Mayor Gordon Krantz. “We are pleased to exceed our annual housing target, and grateful to receive funding as part of the Building Faster Fund that will contribute towards the required housing and community growth infrastructure.”
Any unspent funding from the Building Faster Fund will be made available for housing-enabling infrastructure to all municipalities, including those that have already received funding as a result of reaching their targets, through an application process. In addition, ten per cent – or $120 million – of the Building Faster Fund is being set aside for small, rural and northern municipalities to help build housing-enabling infrastructure and prioritize projects that speed up the increase of housing supply.
“I applaud the work being done by Milton and all the other municipalities that have met or exceeded their housing targets and I’m proud to see these communities helping lead the province when it comes to building homes,” said Paul Calandra, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing. “Our government is committed to reaching our goal of building 1.5 million homes by 2031 to make sure that everyone has an affordable place to call home.”