Winnipeg could lose millions if Conservatives scrap federal housing program, report warns

City of Winnipeg staff warn tens of millions of dollars in federal housing money may never arrive if control of the federal government changes hands next year.

A new report warns the Liberal government's Housing Accelerator Fund might not continue beyond 2025.

The city has been promised $122 million through that fund to speed up housing construction in Winnipeg, to be released in batches over the course of four years — each of which requires Parliamentary approval.

The city received the first instalment of $31 million last year, and the next is expected to arrive in the coming weeks.

But city staff are preparing for potential changes to federal priorities.

Federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has promised to scrap the Housing Accelerator Fund if his party wins the next election, which must happen before the end of next October. He's called the fund bureaucratic.

Mayor Scott Gillingham says losing the fund would be "problematic."

"I don't want to see it disappear. I'd like to see any federal government, whomever it is, follow through with that commitment," he told reporters at city hall on Thursday.

Cancelling the program halfway through means the city would lose out on $61 million.

To prepare for that possibility, city staff are prioritizing projects that already submitted applications for the last round of funding, and moving ahead with sweeping zoning changes the city agreed to make in order to qualify for funding.

St. Vital Coun. Brian Mayes has been critical of plans to allow up to four units per lot citywide and buildings up to four storeys within 800 metres of frequent transit routes, and says the city should consider pausing those plans. A hearing on the changes is expected in March.

"If the money's not coming, that kind of takes away the motivation, and the deadline clearly is artificial," Mayes said.

As part of its agreement with the federal government, the city has committed to issuing building permits for 14,001 units by December 2026. 

Gillingham says the threat of scrapping the housing fund won't prevent the city moving forward with planned reforms.

"Some very good work has happened, some work that was actually long overdue, in some zoning reforms and updating the City of Winnipeg's zoning bylaws," he said.

Conservatives would cut GST on new homes

A Conservative spokesperson accused Winnipeg city hall politicians of blocking housing, citing a court case that found city planners had treated developer Andrew Marquess unfairly when dealing with his application to build 1,900 units on the former Parker lands.

"Winnipeg city hall politicians — just like those in Toronto and Vancouver — are part of the problem," Poilievre spokesperson Sebastian Skamski wrote in an email.

"Giving them more money will not only fail to help, it will make the housing crisis worse."

The federal Opposition Leader has promised to reduce housing costs by removing the GST from new homes that sell for under $1 million.

With a federal election coming, the city is not making any funding commitments beyond what it expects to get for 2025, and all contracts have provisions relieving the city of liability if the federal government fails to deliver the funding.

Manitoba Home Builders' Association president and CEO Lanny McInnes said the city is taking a "prudent" approach, and he supports the decision to move ahead with zoning reforms.

"Our priority for our members around the [Housing Accelerator Fund] initiatives that the city has outlined have always been on those initiatives that will have long-term benefits on all types of home building," he said in an interview.

McInnes also said eliminating the GST on new homes would be a "significant boost" to getting houses built. 

The city's report also states the Southern Chiefs' Organization is set to receive up to $10 million from the Housing Accelerator Fund for Wehwehneh Bahgahkinahgohn, its redevelopment plan for the former Hudson's Bay building downtown. Half of that money will come from the next round of funding, while the other half will come from the round after that, if the program continues.

The city has also committed $2 million from the next round to support the The Forks Railside development, led by The Forks Renewal Corporation.