Municipal leaders gather at an Ottawa conference to advocate for funding support

Ontario’s big city mayors are in Ottawa for the Association of Municipalities of Ontario’s annual conference.

The conference kicked off Sunday and will run until Wednesday, with several mayors from the Golden Horseshoe in attendance.

Niagara Region mayors, including Niagara Falls Mayor Jim Diodati and St. Catharines Mayor Mat Siscoe are there, looking to continue discussions about flood recovery support.

Meanwhile, Hamilton Mayor Andrea Horwath said she will be discussing priorities including housing and homelessness, and emergency preparedness response.

She also said this week, she will be lobbying for support with establishing a Youth Wellness Centre in Hamilton.

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Burlington Mayor Marianne Meed Ward is also in attendance, and said she will be advocating for Burlington’s priorities, including housing and complete communities, transportation, infrastructure and more.

Ontario’s Acting Minister of Infrastructure Todd McCarthy announced a $1 billion investment to help municipalities that do not levy development charges, with infrastructure upgrades for housing.

“This is to support the construction of new homes and to preserve the province’s existing housing supply in municipalities that do not levy development charges,” said McCarthy. “The first intake will open for applications on Oct. 29, and projects will be selected in spring 2027, because we know the demand for funding is significant. We will be announcing additional intakes at a later date as we continue to navigate economic uncertainty and unwarranted U.S. tariffs.”

“The need for all levels of government to work together has never been more important.”

Each level of government will be spending $500 million to create a new stream of the Municipal Housing Infrastructure program.

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