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Beginning August 21, the Government of Ontario will be accepting applications for funding under the $400 million Housing-Enabling Core Servicing stream of the $1 billion Municipal Housing Infrastructure Program to build, maintain, and repair core assets such as municipal roads, bridges and culverts that will support the construction of new homes. Of the $400 million, the government is allocating another $120 million to projects in small, rural and northern municipalities that do not have housing targets to better support the unique needs of these growing communities.
“Our government is working with our municipal partners to support their infrastructure needs and get more homes built across the province,” said Kinga Surma, Minister of Infrastructure, who made the announcement at the 125th Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) Conference in Ottawa. “This investment, in addition to the $970 million we are investing in water infrastructure through the first intake of the Housing-Enabling Water Systems Fund, will help unlock more housing opportunities beyond 511,000 homes, bringing us another step forward in our historic partnership with municipalities to build the infrastructure and homes that our communities need to grow and prosper.”
Eligible projects include any road and bridge assets that enable housing infrastructure and promote growth in communities. These projects must be a net new, rehabilitation, repair, reconstruction or replacement project.
The remaining funding under the Municipal Housing Infrastructure Program will help municipalities target other key infrastructure priorities, including maintaining the health and safety of local water and wastewater systems. More information about this funding, including eligibility and application intake details, will be announced later this year.
“AMO thanks the Ontario government for its leadership in making historic investments of nearly $2 billion towards housing-enabling infrastructure. Municipalities are planning for infrastructure expenditures of more than $250 billion over the next 10 years. This funding is welcome, as it will help pave the way to increase housing supply, support growth and strengthen the economy,” said Colin Best, president, AMO.
Earlier this month, Ontario also announced the launch of a second intake of applications under the $1.2-billion Housing-Enabling Water Systems Fund. Combined, the Municipal Housing Infrastructure Program and the Housing-Enabling Water Systems Fund are providing municipalities with more than $1.9 billion in provincial funding for housing- and community-enabling infrastructure, as part of the province’s capital plan of over $190 billion to build critical infrastructure and support growing communities.
“We are ensuring that, even though high interest rates and global uncertainty have impacted housing starts, we are laying the groundwork for a long-term building boom as economic circumstances improve,” said Paul Calandra, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing. “We will continue to do our part to give municipalities the tools they need to build more homes faster. Whether it’s helping communities maintain roads and bridges or upgrade water and wastewater systems, our government is focused on making historic investments in infrastructure to help get shovels in the ground for new homes in Ontario.” |
