The federal and Ontario governments are pitching a multi-billion dollar plan to lower the upfront cost of building homes, but key questions remain about how the program will work in practice, and whether municipalities will fully buy in.
Standing in Toronto on Monday, Prime Minister Mark Carney and Premier Doug Ford announced a joint $8.8 billion commitment to offset municipal development charges, a fee widely blamed for driving up the cost of new housing.
Under the plan, both governments will each contribute $4.4 billion over the next decade through Ottawa’s new Build Communities Strong Fund. The funding is designed to allow municipalities to cut development charges by up to 50 per cent for three years, while still receiving replacement revenue from senior levels of government.