The Ford government is still a little more than 100,000 housing starts short of its target for new homes in 2025, as the ministers try to manage expectations on the overall goal.
The Progressive Conservatives won the 2022 election partly under a promise to build 1.5 million new homes by 2031, setting themselves annual targets in the process.
Those targets started at 110,000 per year, rising to 175,000 per year from 2026.
Figures released by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation for October, however, show Ontario has barely hit a third of its target for this year.
Under the staggered goals it set for itself, the province has to begin work on 150,000 new homes this year. The latest data shows that, between January and October, just 49,678 houses began construction in Ontario — 33.1 per cent of its goal.
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The number doesn’t necessarily represent the province’s total for the entire year.
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There are still two months of construction left to be counted. The government also boosts its numbers by adding long-term care beds, student residents and basement units to the totals.
Still, the government has been working to temper expectations.
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Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy recently referred to the goal of 1.5 million homes as a “soft” target. Housing Minister Rob Flack says he is targeting the spring to see the impacts of recent policy changes.
“If you take a look at Bill 17 and now Bill 60 … we’re creating the conditions for next spring. We really are setting up for success for next spring,” he recently told Global News.
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Bill 17 paved the way for development charge (DC) deferrals — a major change that allows developers to pay municipal fees when the property is handed over to the buyer, rather than when the building permit is issued.
While the legislation was tabled in early June, regulations that enforce the law were only approved in November, making it mandatory for municipalities to defer the charges.
“It’s hard out there,” Flack said. “We’re in a housing crisis, so the more cash flow we can free up for them to get building, the sooner we get more houses built and the cost will come down.”
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In late October, the province tabled legislation (Bill 60) aimed at streamlining approvals and site plan control, which, the province said, would create consistent standards for parking and landscaping requirements, while lowering costs for building.
“What I’d like to see is more housing starts, more housing projects on the go,” Flack said. “We’re setting it up for next year.”
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