For the mayor of a southeastern Ontario municipality, the denial of an application to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) came as a disappointing blow.
Prince Edward County announced in September 2023 that it had applied for $14.2 million in funding for local affordable housing initiatives through the Housing Accelerator Fund — a federal grant administered by the CMHC. Late last week, Mayor Steve Ferguson said the application was denied.
“We had to wait for seven months to find out the decision of our application, which will cause unfortunate delays in moving several projects forward. All of which are to create affordable housing,” he said in a media release on March 1.
In a later statement on Wednesday, the mayor added that the money would have helped in pushing ahead various projects, such as the acquisition of the former Queen Elizabeth School in Picton in order to turn it into housing units and a common space.
Other projects included supporting rental housing, transitional housing and flexibility for zoning tools.
“Small, rural municipalities are left on their own with a small tax base to support their residents’ local housing needs that, if not addressed, will negatively impact the local economy,” Ferguson said.
In an emailed statement on Wednesday, the CMHC said demand for the Housing Accelerator Fund has exceeded the available budget. The process for evaluating applications, it said, was competitive. Of the 544 applications it said it received, CMHC approved 179.
Additionally, the corporation noted that there was only one window for applications.
Speaking to Global News, the mayor noted that despite the rejection of the application, the municipality will work on finding ways to continue acquiring the former public school.
“Yes, it’s disappointing. But on April 11, our staff is going to come back with some options for council to consider how we can address these needs and finance them,” he said.