VAUGHAN, Ontario – Today, Ontario is introducing the Protect Ontario by Building Faster and Smarter Act, 2025 to help speed up the construction of new homes and infrastructure, including by streamlining development processes and reducing costs in close partnership with municipalities. The province is also increasing its historic investment in housing-enabling infrastructure by adding $400 million in immediate funding to the Housing-Enabling Water Systems Fund (HEWSF) and Municipal Housing Infrastructure Fund (MHIP) for a total of nearly $2.3 billion over four years across the HEWSF and the MHIP.
“We are taking bold action to protect Ontario in the face of economic uncertainty by speeding up construction so we can lower housing costs and keep workers on the job,” said Rob Flack, minister of municipal affairs and housing.
“The legislation we’re tabling today responds to recommendations and requests from municipal leaders, and will help build the homes and infrastructure Ontario needs.”
The Protect Ontario by Building Faster and Smarter Act, 2025, if passed, and related actions would:
- Spur new construction by simplifying and standardizing development charges based on measures that were developed in consultation with municipalities, including measures that some municipalities have already implemented. Ontario will work with municipalities to continue simplifying, streamlining and reducing costly local development fees that can add hundreds of thousands of dollars to the cost of new homes.
- Remove barriers for Canadian manufacturers who want to introduce innovative materials, systems and building designs that could reduce construction costs and expedite projects.
- Streamline and improve planning and delivery for transit-oriented communities, creating more jobs and housing options near transit.
- Reduce costs and speed up project approvals with consistent building construction standards across Ontario municipalities.
- Significantly speed up getting shovels in the ground to build major transit projects by extending measures in the Building Transit Faster Act, 2020 to all provincial transit projects.
- Simplify, streamline and bring consistency and transparency to development applications, land use planning approvals, and contents of municipal official plans. These changes would make it easier and faster to build residential, commercial and industrial buildings within and across Ontario’s municipalities.
- Ontario’s road building standards can differ across the province’s 444 municipalities, causing unnecessary cost and delays. The province will consult with municipalities and stakeholders by fall 2025 on framework legislation for greater harmonization and clarified governance of municipal standards, which will lead to cost savings through more efficient design and technical review, greater construction efficiencies and streamlined procurement processes.
“We are pulling out all the stops to protect and build up Ontario during this time of economic uncertainty,” said Kinga Surma, minister of infrastructure. “Our expanded investments will ensure we can build even more homes, create more jobs and protect the most critical infrastructure that people depend on every day.”
Through HEWSF, the province has already allocated nearly $1.3 billion for water and waste-water infrastructure projects that will enable the construction of approximately 600,000 homes. Ontario has also invested approximately $700 million in MHIP. Combined with the new $400 million ($315 million for HEWSF and $85 million for MHIP) this brings the new total investment to nearly $2.3 billion.
“I applaud premier Ford, minister Flack, and the government of Ontario for taking bold and creative action to address the housing crisis,” said Steven Del Duca, Mayor for the City of Vaughan. “The status quo simply isn’t working, and families across Ontario — including mine — deserve to see real change. I want my kids to have the opportunity to own a home in the city where they grew up. In Vaughan, we’re doing our part by reducing development charges by 50 percent and using every tool available to get more homes built, faster. I welcome the province’s leadership in cutting red tape, standardizing approvals, and building a more efficient, affordable future for all Ontarians.”
Through the Building Faster Fund, the government has also provided municipalities with $286.8 million for community and housing-enabling infrastructure last year, along with $120 million dedicated for small, rural and Northern municipalities without housing targets which is being delivered through the HEWSF and MHIP. This is in addition to the $1 billion in flexible loans for housing-enabling water infrastructure projects available to municipalities through the Infrastructure Ontario Loan Program.
“I’m grateful for the province’s leadership in introducing these much-needed measures to address the housing crisis,” said Carolyn Parrish, Mayor for the City of Mississauga. “Municipalities cannot tackle this challenge alone — we need support like this to cut red tape, streamline approvals, and create the conditions for faster, more affordable housing development. Mississauga’s Housing Task Force has demonstrated that bold reforms and innovative policies can drive real progress, and these provincial measures will encourage cities across Ontario to accelerate their own housing initiatives. This kind of collaboration across all levels of government is critical to meeting the urgent housing needs of our residents and building a more sustainable future for residents all over Ontario.”
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