Province Collaborating with Municipalities to Help Solve the Housing Affordability Crisis
Premier Doug Ford and Steve Clark, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, will host a provincial-municipal housing summit on December 16 for Ontario’s Big City mayors and regional chairs. The summit will aim to identify further opportunities for collaboration as the province and municipalities continue to address the housing affordability crisis. Minister Clark announced the summit during his remarks to the Empire Club today.
“Young families, seniors and all hardworking Ontarians are desperate for housing that meets their needs and budget,” said Premier Doug Ford. “That’s why we’re inviting municipalities to the table to discuss how we can work together to build more homes faster and make home ownership more affordable. At a time when our government is hard at work building an economy that works for everyone, my goal for the summit is for the province and municipal partners to come up with concrete solutions that address the ongoing housing affordability crisis and allow more families to realize the dream of home ownership.”
The provincial government’s housing policies under More Homes, More Choice: Ontario’s Housing Supply Action Plan are working to make housing more affordable by increasing the supply of the full range of housing options, from single-family homes to midrise housing to apartment buildings. In 2020, the year after More Homes, More Choice was implemented, Ontario saw the highest level of housing starts in a decade and the highest level of rental starts since 1992. However, to make home ownership more affordable for more people, more needs to be done.
“It’s no secret that Ontario has a housing crisis, as demand has drastically outpaced supply over the past decade. While our government’s policies are working to address affordability, including the tools we’ve provided to municipalities, we know that housing prices are still out of reach for so many Ontarians,” said Minister Clark. “As we move toward a period of economic growth, this housing summit gives us a chance to assess how the province and our municipal partners can build on our progress through continued partnership and identify new opportunities to collaborate on making housing more affordable for hardworking Ontarians and their families.”
Quick Facts
- Leading up to the ROMA Conference, Minister Clark will also host a special session with Ontario’s rural municipalities in January with ROMA members, to discuss the issue of housing affordability and the unique challenges and opportunities they are facing.
- In 2020, the year after More Homes, More Choice was implemented, Ontario had over 81,000 housing starts – the highest level in the last decade.
- Almost 11,500 units of rental housing were completed in Ontario in 2020 — the highest since 1992.
- As announced in the Fall Economic Statement and as part of Ontario’s plan to address housing supply and affordability, the government is also creating a Housing Affordability Task Force to identify further opportunities to get shovels in the ground faster, remove duplication and barriers, and make housing more affordable for hardworking Ontarians.
Additional Resources
Related Topics
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Author: Pete Fisher
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