Ontario gives Toronto $114M for exceeding its 2023 housing targets
City exceeded its mandated single-year goal by 51%, premier says
Ontario Premier Doug Ford congratulated Toronto on its progress building homes last year with a $114 million cheque Thursday, saying the city has knocked provincial housing targets out of the park.
As part of its effort to address the province's housing crisis amid its growing population, the Ontario government vowed to build 1.5 million new homes in Ontario by 2031. The Ford government set specific housing targets for 50 of the largest municipalities across the province. Toronto's share is 285,000.
According to the province's housing tracker, set up last year, the city exceeded its mandated single-year 2023 goal by 51 per cent. As a result, the city has been given $114 million that Ford said could go to building even more homes.
"The city's progress on building homes is just incredible," said Ford, adding work still needs to continue.
"We need everyone to continue building, take a page out of the mayor's book here in Toronto, and over a number of years we won't have these issues."
There were some 31,656 housing starts in Toronto last year, which Ford said includes a mix of owned, rental, supportive and non-profit units, while the target was set at 20,900.
As a whole, the province 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, according to a news release.
The money comes from the Building Faster Fund, a three-year, $1.2-billion pot made to address the housing crisis and help municipalities cover housing-related costs, such as infrastructure.
Funding is given to municipalities that have reached at least 80 per cent of their housing targets for the year. For exceeding its targets, the city was given an extra $38 million, the province said in the release.
Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow said the extra funds will be put to "good use."
"When there's a crisis, every drop counts," she said, adding that there are 85,000 households waiting for affordable or rent-geared-to-income housing in the city.
"Toronto is matching the urgency of the housing crisis with the urgency of our actions."
Chow's executive committee approved a city staff report last October that outlined how Toronto could potentially build 65,000 new rent-controlled housing units in coming years. The plan hinges on billions of dollars in funding support from both the provincial and federal governments.
The province said it will announce Building Faster Fund rewards in the coming weeks, with any unspent funding up for grabs for municipalities — including those that already reached their targets.
Housing and Municipal Affairs Minister Paul Calandra said the fund shouldn't be seen as a "punishment" for cities that haven't been able to reach their targets.
"It's a recognition of those that are doing it and helping them so that they can continue to do that and put more shovels in the ground," he said.