Funding can be used to invest in infrastructure to support building more homes
WELLAND — Matthew Rae, Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, announced Ontario is providing the City of Welland with $1,720,000 in funding through the Building Faster Fund after the city exceeded its 2023 housing target. Welland broke ground on a total of 868 new housing units last year, unlocking an additional $573,333 by exceeding their 2023 target by 176 per cent.
“We applaud the work being done by the City of Welland and all municipalities that have met or exceeded their housing targets,” said Matthew Rae, Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Municipal Affairs. “Our challenge to these municipalities now is to redouble their efforts to get even more shovels in the ground so we can improve affordability and keep the dream of homeownership alive in Ontario. Our government will be there to support you every step of the way.”
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.
“We would like to thank the province for this funding. It will enable us to expand and improve our infrastructure, which in turn will assist with residential growth-related costs”, said Frank Campion, Mayor of Welland. “It is important that growth pays for growth so that the costs do not fall on the ratepayer. Having achieved and exceeded our growth targets, we qualified to receive this funding and we appreciate the fact that the provincial government has stepped up to the plate to assist.”
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 Welland and all the other municipalities that have met or exceeded their housing targets and I’m proud to see your community helping lead the province when it comes to building homes,” said Paul Calandra, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing. “Our government is committed to building at least 1.5 million homes by 2031 and I look forward to unveiling the next steps in our plan to build more homes with the release of our fifth housing supply action plan later this month.”
“The City of Welland is leading the way in Ontario by building more homes faster,” said Sam Oosterhoff, MPP for Niagara West. “I congratulate Mayor Campion, city council, and planning staff for helping double the number of housing starts last year and addressing the housing supply crisis in Niagara.”