In March 2023, the government launched the $4 billion Housing Accelerator Fund to help fast-track the creation of 100,000 new homes across Canada. The Fund is already delivering results & is expected to exceed 100,000 new homes.
Over the next three years, the Housing Accelerator Fund has already made progress to build around 21,000 more houses, with agreements already declared with:
- London, Ontario
- Brampton, Ontario
- Kitchener, Ontario
- Halifax, Nova Scotia
- Vaughan, Ontario
- Calgary, Alberta
- Hamilton, Ontario
- Kelowna, British Columbia
- Moncton, New Brunswick
The Federal Government signed an agreement with Quebec for a joint contribution of $1.8 billion. The $900 million provided by the Federal government will go towards building more homes for people residing in Quebec.
Here are the agreements the Canadian government has made with every city, along with the expected number of homes to be built with the help of the Housing Accelerator Fund.
London, Ontario
The agreement with London was declared in the month of September, thus making it the first one to sign an agreement with the federal government. The agreement will deliver around $74 million in federal housing to London in order to build 2,000 homes.
Moreover, the agreement includes allowing up to four units in order to be built on a single property in low-density neighborhoods & disposing of city-owned land for further development. Furthermore, London will work to create partnerships with non-profit housing providers in order to build affordable houses.
Vaughan, Ontario
The agreement with Vaughan will deliver around $59 million in federal funding to build over 1,700 homes. This will enable high-density development near public transit like the subway & GO train stations. In addition, the agreement also prioritizes fixing outdated permitting systems to speed up development & building apartments & affordable housing.
Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton will obtain over $93.5 million in federal funding to build 2,600 houses. The agreement will prioritize building developments near rapid transit, including the future Hamilton LRT stations.
Moreover, the agreement will also make city-owned lands and brownfields available for development. This will result in the construction of four residential units.
Brampton, Ontario
The Federal government’s agreement with Brampton will deliver around $114 million in federal funding to build around 3,150 homes. It will help reduce barriers to the development of housing in key areas of the city, like urban centers, significant public transit stations, & boulevards.
Moreover, the agreement will focus on expanding zoning permission for housing, including permitting four residential units & four storeys within 800 meters of transit. It will create new incentive programs for affordable housing.
Halifax, Nova Scotia
Halifax will obtain $79.3 million in federal funding to build 2,600 homes. The agreement will incentivize the use of pre-approved building plans & develop an incentive program to convert commercial real estate into residential areas.
Furthermore, the agreement will also prioritize improving the permit procedure & reduce costs for permitting, encourage development alongside transit corridors, create incentives for small-scale residential construction & create a program in order to recognize sufficient land for affordable housing.
Kelowna, British Columbia
The agreement with Kelowna is to deliver around $31.5 million in federal funding to build 950 houses. It will prioritize high-density development along with rapid transit corridors, thus making the city-owned lands available for affordable housing development in partnerships with non-profits.
Moreover, Kelowna also plans to expand the use of technology in order to streamline building permit applications & expand zoning for more infill housing in Kelowna’s core.
Kitchener, Ontario
The agreement declared with Kitchener will deliver over $42.4 million in federal funding to build around 1,200 new houses. The agreement will lead to high & medium housing around Kitchener’s Light Rail Transit stations by making planning regulations more permissive. Kitchener will also work to make affordable housing easier to build by making land & incentives available for affordable housing providers.
Calgary, Alberta
Calgary will obtain over $228 million in federal funding to build around 6,400 new houses. The agreement with the city will further work to expand upon the city’s office space conversion program. It will also create homes on city-owned lands in close proximity to transit stations & enable growth by allowing infill housing in established neighborhoods.
Moncton, New Brunswick
The agreement declared with Moncton is to deliver over $15.5 million in federal funding to build 490 new homes. Moreover, it encourages missing middle development, accessory dwelling units, & support non-profit housing developers. Lastly, Moncton will develop building plan templates for energy-efficient multi-unit residential apartments.
The Province Of Quebec
The amount of $1.8 billion in new funding for housing construction will result in the creation of 8,000 social & affordable housing units. Out of this, over 500 units will be reserved for individuals who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.
Moreover, the agreement with Quebec will also focus on creating a project acceleration unit in collaboration with Quebec municipalities & adopting new government policies for land use planning, with housing construction indicators on which municipalities will have to create their targets.