Canada rolls out first multimillion-dollar funding for more housing in cities
The Canadian government has announced the first city to receive millions of dollars in funding to tackle the housing crisis.
London, Ontario, has reached an agreement with the federal government to receive a chunk of the $4 billion Housing Accelerator Fund.
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The fund was introduced in the Liberal’s 2022 budget to incentivize municipalities to create initiatives that would increase housing supply.
We’re cutting red tape and funding new ways to build more homes, faster. Tune in here to see how we’re doing that – in London, Ontario and in communities across the country: https://t.co/gIEvDVpoyT
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) September 13, 2023
In a press conference on Wednesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said London Mayor Josh Morgan was the fastest to step up “with an absolutely visionary proposal.”
“When we saw that Josh’s plan was ambitious and serious, we said, ‘Okay, let’s get them funding,’ so we can fast track the building of more housing here in London,” said Trudeau.
The $74 million deal is set to create 2,000 new homes in the city over three years.
Morgan says it’ll also allow the city to build thousands of additional housing units in “years to come.”
The federal government aims to get 100,000 new housing units built across the country through this fund.
With the average rent hitting record highs in the past few months, it’s clear how much Canadians are in need of more housing supply.
But why has it taken the government a while to roll out this funding?
Housing Minister Sean Fraser says they had to give cities time to build their plans. The government rolled out an official application process, which Fraser says recently came to a close.
“We had the opportunity to compare some of the different plans, given the different levels of ambition that communities have across Canada have demonstrated,” he said during the press conference in London.
The minister said to expect to see similar funding announcements being made over the next few weeks and months that will “have nuanced solutions that meet local challenges and communities in every region of this country.”
This news comes over a month after Trudeau said housing is “not a primary federal responsibility.”
Despite that, Ottawa has made other recent announcements addressing the housing crisis, including its plan to consider capping international student visas.