Ottawa gets $37.5 million for making 'substantial progress' towards housing targets
The city of Ottawa is receiving $37.5 million in provincial funding for the progress made towards its 2023 target to build new homes.
Premier Doug Ford was in Ottawa on Friday to announce the funding through the Building Faster Fund.
"Ottawa made substantial progress towards its 2023 target, breaking ground on 10,213 homes last year," Ford told reporters at Ottawa City Hall.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Ottawa city Mayor Mark Sutcliffe pose with a box of a donuts from a local bakery following an announcement, Friday, April 5, 2024 in Ottawa. (Adrian Wyld/THE CANADIAN PRESS)
"That's 10,213 families that are going to have a roof over their head."
The city of Ottawa reached 93 per cent of its housing target in 2023, qualifying for funding under Ontario's Building Faster Fund. Statistics presented by the city last month show there were 10,313 housing starts in Ottawa last year.
The Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing set an annual housing target of 11,073 housing starts in Ottawa last year.
Mayor Mark Sutcliffe said the provincial funding is a "big help" to expand infrastructure and transit.
"The funds that we're receiving today go towards infrastructure that will help us build and enhance existing communities," Sutcliffe said.
"As the city is growing, we need more support for infrastructure."
Sutcliffe added the Building Faster Fund, "will help us create the conditions for builders and community organizations to build homes faster."
Ontario's Building Faster Fund is a three year, $1.2 billion program to provide municipalities funding based on performance against the provincial housing targets. Municipalities that reach 80 per cent of their annual target each year will be eligible for funding based on their share of Ontario's overall goal of 1.5 million new homes, according to the province.
This is the second straight week Ford is in Ottawa for an announcement. Last week, the premier announced a new deal between the Ontario government and the city of Ottawa to provide $543 million in operating and capital funding to the city over 10 years.
The province said last week that Ottawa is eligible for up to $118 million over three years through the Building Faster Fund, conditional on the capital's progress towards its housing targets.
Ottawa is also receiving $176.3 million in federal funding to help build new homes over the next 10 years. Council has confirmed 90 per cent of the funding will be allocated to building affordable housing projects by non-profit housing providers.
Funding for Kingston
The city of Kingston has received millions of dollars in new funding for exceeding its provincial housing target.
On Thursday, Ontario announced $3.2 million in funding for Kingston through the Building Faster Fund, after the city exceeded its 2023 housing target. There were 1,465 new housing units built in the city last year.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Trudeau calls violence in Montreal 'appalling' as NATO protest continues
Anti-NATO protesters gathered again in Montreal on Saturday to demand Canada withdraw from the alliance, a day after a demonstration organized by different groups resulted in arrests, burned cars and shattered windows.
7 suspects, including 13-year-old, charged following 'violent' home invasion north of Toronto
Seven teenage suspects, including a 13-year-old, have been arrested following a targeted and “violent” home invasion in Vaughan on Friday, police say.
These vascular risks are strongly associated with severe stroke, researchers say
Many risk factors can lead to a stroke, but the magnitude of risk from some of these conditions or behaviours may have a stronger association with severe stroke compared with mild stroke, according to a new study.
Widow of Chinese businessman who was executed for murder can sell her Vancouver house, court rules
A murder in China and a civil lawsuit in B.C. have been preventing the sale of multiple Vancouver homes, but one of them could soon hit the market after a court ruling.
Cher 'shocked' to discover her legal name when she applied to change it
Cher recalls a curious interlude from her rich and many-chaptered history in her new book 'Cher: The Memoir, Part One.'
Black bear killed in self-defence after attack on dog-walker in Maple Ridge, B.C.
A black bear has died following a brawl with a man on a trail in Maple Ridge, B.C.
Retiring? Here's how to switch from saving for your golden years to spending
The last paycheque from a decades-long career arrives next Friday and the nest egg you built during those working years will now turn into a main source of income. It can be a jarring switch from saving for retirement to spending in retirement.
Canadian neurosurgeons seek six patients for Musk's Neuralink brain study
Canadian neurosurgeons in partnership with Elon Musk's Neuralink have regulatory approval to recruit six patients with paralysis willing to have a thousand electrode contacts in their brains.
Police thought this gnome looked out of place. Then they tested it for drugs
During a recent narcotics investigation, Dutch police said they found a garden gnome made of approximately two kilograms of MDMA.