Hamilton awarded $17.5 million from province for exceeding housing targets

The City of Hamilton has been awarded $17.5 million from the provincial government for exceeding its housing target in 2023.

Premier Doug Ford was in Hamilton on Friday to make the announcement in the company of Mayor Andrea Horwath.

“Hamilton is getting it done on housing and we are glad to reward them for their success,” Ford said.

The money is coming from the Building Faster Fund, which is a three-year, $1.2 billion program announced in August 2023.

The fund is designed to reward municipalities for progressing towards their housing targets provided by the provincial government.

Municipalities that reach at least 80 percent of their provincially assigned housing target for the year will receive funding, while those that exceed their target will get even more money.

READ MORE: St. Catharines awarded $2.3M in provincial funding for meeting housing targets

Hamilton was able to break ground on a total of 4,142 new housing units last year, exceeding its housing target set by the provincial government, one of 19 municipalities to do so.

Horwath said it’s clear that Hamilton is working hard to facilitate the building of much-needed housing.

“There is no doubt that the people of our great City deserve access to stable housing they can afford,” Horwath said.

“I remain steadfast in my commitment to fostering the growth of diverse housing options and ensuring every citizen has access to secure and affordable housing.”

READ MORE: Poverty advocate and Hamilton’s mayor discuss encampments, housing crisis

On Friday Ford reacted to a proposal by Bonnie Crombie’s Ontario Liberals to allow four-story developments in single-family communities saying residents in those neighbourhoods would “lose their minds” if it was in their backyards.

Despite Ford’s housing policy, many downtown Burlington residents were forced to accept 18 and 20-storey buildings. To which Ford replied, in the end, it is up to the municipality to choose what they want to do.

Hamilton NDP MPP Sandy Shaw says Premier Ford bulldozes local decisions when it benefits land speculations but hides when it doesn’t.

As Doug Ford spoke in Hamilton and handed out millions of dollars the houseless community in Hamilton continues to struggle and the encampment outside of city hall continues to grow.

Housing advocate Angela Vos says “regardless of how much money they’re going to put into housing, if they are going to take ten years to build, it doesn’t mean a whole lot.”