Steve Clark, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, announced that the province intends to appoint regional facilitators in Durham, Halton, Niagara, Waterloo, York and Simcoe County by September 11, 2023.
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These facilitators will be tasked with assessing local governance structures in these communities to ensure they are prepared to support future growth and meet the needs of their residents, particularly when it comes to building homes and housing-enabling infrastructure.
Minister Clark also announced the next steps in the province’s work to update the provincial definition of affordable housing, which will support the government’s efforts to lower the cost of building affordable homes.
The government intends to introduce changes to the Development Charges Act that would, if passed, incorporate income factors in addition to market factors in this definition.
To ensure low- and moderate-income Ontarians in all parts of the province can find a truly affordable home, affordable homes that meet the province’s definition would be eligible for discounts and exemptions on development-related fees, to help lower the cost of building, purchasing and renting affordable homes across the province.
“Our government remains intently focused on helping Ontarians find the homes they need and deserve,†said Minister Clark.
“We are working closely with our municipal partners to ensure they have the tools they need to meet their housing targets and will keep fighting to reach our goal of 1.5 million homes by 2031.â€
The government will continue to work with other levels of government, industry and non-profit partners in order to achieve shared housing goals.
To that end, a provincially hosted Housing Forum in November 2023 will bring together stakeholders and municipal representatives to discuss how Ontario can best continue increasing the supply of homes.
Through its recent Housing Supply Action Plans, the government has strengthened protections for renters and homebuyers, streamlined local development approval processes, and made it faster and easier to build homes under the Building Code, with the next edition of the Code expected to be released later this year.
In 2022, housing starts in the province surpassed 96,000 – the second-highest number since 1988 and 30 per cent higher than the annual average for the past 20 years.
Rental housing construction improved as well, with 2022 setting a new record of nearly 15,000 starts. The trend continues in 2023, with a seven per cent increase in starts over the first seven months vs. 2022 and a 44 per cent increase in rental starts.
A majority of the province’s population growth over the next 30 years is expected to occur in southern Ontario. ■