The Ford government has awarded new funding to the cities of St. Catharines, Niagara Falls, and Welland for meeting at least 80 per cent of their provincially set housing targets for 2024.
The announcement was made earlier this week by Premier Doug Ford and Municipal Affairs Minister Rob Flack.
Combined, St. Catharines, Niagara Falls, and Welland broke ground on nearly 2,000 new homes last year.
“We’re working closely with Mayor Siscoe, Mayor Diodati and Mayor Campion, and with local leadership in municipalities across Ontario, to get more homes built faster,” said Ford. “Today’s investment is just the latest step we are taking to protect our workers and communities by supporting continued growth in the Niagara Region and across Ontario.”
St. Catharines was awarded $2.5 million in additional funding by the province for meeting 85 per cent of its housing goals for 2024, which amounted to the breaking ground of 782 new units.
Niagara Falls was awarded $2.8 million in additional funding for meeting 116 per cent of its housing goals, breaking ground on 774 new housing units.
Welland was awarded $1.4 million in additional funding for meeting 114 per cent of its housing goals, breaking ground on 408 new units.
The Building Faster Fund, which is where the money comes from that the province awarded to these three municipalities, is a three-year program originally announced in 2023. It is designed to encourage municipalities to speed up their approval processes for new homes to get more homes built faster.
The Fund rewards municipalities that meet at least 80 per cent of their housing targets, set by the province, in a given calendar year.
The Ford government is also building on its legislative track record of trying to speed up home building by enacting the Protect Ontario by Building Faster and Smarter Act, 2025. This legislation is designed to speed up approvals and streamline development processes and is meant to work in tandem with initiatives like the Building Faster Fund.
“Our government’s latest legislation is a key step forward in our plan to reduce delays, streamline approvals and build more homes – faster – in partnership with municipalities across Ontario,” said Flack. “Through the Building Faster Fund and our historic infrastructure investments, we’re partnering with local leadership to get more shovels in the ground and deliver the homes Ontario needs.”
St. Catharines Mayor Mat Siscoe also released a statement after it was announced the city would receive new provincial funding.
“Accelerating construction of housing has been a top strategic priority for the City over the last two years, and the support from partners like the provincial government is critical in helping us get more housing built in our community,” said Siscoe. “Addressing the housing crisis requires creative solutions that have only been made possible by the partnership we’ve established with the Province and other levels of government.”
The provincial announcement of new funding for St. Catharines, Niagara Falls, and Welland was made relatively early in this year’s funding cycle. Other Niagara Region municipalities will likely see funding announced in the coming weeks and months.
Jay Goldberg is the Canadian Affairs Manager at the Consumer Choice Center. He previously served as the Ontario Director at the Canadian Taxpayers Federation and a policy fellow at the Munk School of Public Policy and Global Affairs. Jay holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Toronto.
