The Ford government is topping up a pot of money designed to help towns and cities boost lagging housing numbers by building more roads and sewers.
A new commitment of $1.6 billion was announced by Premier Doug Ford and Infrastructure Minister Kinga Surma in Ottawa on Monday at the opening of an annual municipal conference.
“Working with our municipal partners, we’re going to keep lowering costs, investing in infrastructure and cutting red tape so we can keep the dream of homeownership alive in Ontario,” Ford said in a statement.
The new money will go toward the Municipal Housing Infrastructure Program, which has already had $2.3 billion announced for it, taking the total to almost $4 billion.
The fund is split into four streams, allowing municipalities to apply for money for agriculture and irrigation, two types of water systems and “core servicing” like roads or bridges.
“Investments in municipal infrastructure have consistently proven to be the best way to protect local, provincial and national economies,” Robin Jones, president of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario, said in a statement distributed by the Ford government.
“These investments will not just help to build homes, they will provide thousands of jobs in communities across the province and lay the foundation for long-term productivity. We commend Premier Ford for these important investments.”
The announcement comes with Ontario well off pace in its attempts to build 1.5 million homes by 2031.
The latest data from the government shows that, even after adding long-term care beds and student dorms to its statistics, Ontario fell tens of thousands of new homes short of its target last year.