MILTON — On Friday, 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.”
It’s great to be in @TownOfMiltonON to present $8.4 million in funding after the town smashed its housing targets!
From Highway 413 to two-way, all-day GO service, we’re giving Miltonians the investment and support they need as Milton continues to grow. pic.twitter.com/AzgQXuV9yk
— Doug Ford (@fordnation) March 8, 2024
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.”
Quick Facts
- In 2023, Ontario reached 99 per cent of its target of 110,000 new homes, which includes housing starts, additional residential units and new and upgraded long-term care beds.
- Ontario broke ground on 18,992 rental starts in 2023, the highest number of rental starts on record.
- The province saw nearly 10,000 additional residential units created in 2023 – which includes changing single family homes into multi-unit residences or converting commercial office space into residential use – and nearly 10,000 new and upgraded long-term care beds.
- Ontario has introduced significant investments in municipalities to support housing-enabling infrastructure, including $200 million over three years for the Housing-Enabling Water Systems Fund and the $400 million annual Ontario Community Infrastructure Fund.
SOURCE Province of Ontario
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