The City of Guelph is receiving a funding boost from the federal government.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was in the Royal City on Friday to announce $21.4 million is coming to the city through the $4-billion federal Housing Accelerator Fund.
The funding will be used towards the City’s goal of building 750 more housing units in the next three years.
Trudeau met with MP Lloyd Longfield and Mayor Cam Guthrie at 10 Shelldale, a permanent supportive housing project in Guelph.
“The investments that we’ve facilitated that have led to buildings like this are part of (addressing homelessness),” said Trudeau. “But we know there is more to do and as a government we are committed to ending chronic homelessness.”
Guthrie has been an advocate for more housing across Ontario in order to help bring in skilled workers and also drive the price of homes down. He said the City is already doing the work needed to enable more homes to be built more quickly.
“The structural changes that we will be making inside City Hall to make processes faster, to make policy decisions come quicker, to have infrastructure lined up and ready to go so that housing can get built faster,” said Guthrie.
“Today’s announcement is just proof again that the federal government is at the table with municipalities like ours making things happen.”
Longfield added that this funding will work for those who will be benefiting from the projects.
“People that have had experiences (with homelessness), and know what they need to have a fuller, richer life.”
The City of Guelph has been tasked by the province to construct 18,000 new housing units by 2031. In a news release, the city says it is dedicated in achieving that target but it will take a collaborative effort from all levels of government and the homebuilding community in order to get there.
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