Ontario and Canada Sign Historic Partnership to Cut Development Charges, Enable More Homes and Build Transit

March 30, 2026

Beamsville – Today, Hon. Doug Ford, Premier of Ontario, and Hon. Mark Carney, Prime Minister of Canada, signed the Canada-Ontario Partnership to Build in support of shared goals, including building more homes faster to make housing more affordable, getting shovels in the ground on key transit projects and supporting economic development that will protect jobs and help communities grow, despite the impact of tariffs and economic uncertainty. The agreement includes $8.8 billion in federal and provincial funding over ten years to support housing-enabling infrastructure investments for Ontario municipalities that reduce and maintain low development charges, as well as a Harmonized Sales Tax rebate to incentivize new home construction, and co-operation and financial support for several major transit projects.

“This historic agreement between Ottawa and Ontario affirms our government’s commitment to protect workers, job creators and families across the province and in Niagara,” said Sam Oosterhoff, MPP for Niagara West.

“Under the leadership of Premier Ford, we will continue fighting for the people of Ontario by making life more affordable, spurring growth and strengthening our economy.”

“Today’s agreement will be transformational for Ontario and Canada, delivering new homes, transit and infrastructure and supporting hundreds of thousands of good-paying jobs for Ontario workers,” said Premier Ford.

“Our government will continue to deliver on our plan to protect Ontario in partnership with the federal government and municipalities by lowering the cost of building, getting shovels in the ground faster, cutting red tape and investing in workers.”

A key pillar of the agreement is a shared commitment to boosting housing supply. Ontario and the federal government will cost-match a total of $8.8 billion over ten years, focused on housing-enabling infrastructure projects. Most of the funding will be used to support the reduction by up to fifty percent of municipal development charges, which can add hundreds of thousands of dollars to the cost of new homes in Ontario municipalities. This new infrastructure funding will offset much of the financial impact of development charge reductions on municipalities. However, municipalities will also be expected to support development charge reductions, so that all three levels of government are supporting increased housing supply and affordability. The province will work with municipalities and partners to put forward a list of infrastructure projects for approval with a focus on speed and efficiency. These strategic investments will encourage new home construction and reduce barriers and costs to housing development to help more people realize the dream of homeownership.

Among other key priorities, the Canada-Ontario Partnership to Build commits to the following initiatives that will benefit workers, job creators and families in Niagara, including:

• Committing to working together to remove the full thirteen percent Harmonized Sales Tax for eligible buyers of new homes in Ontario valued up to $1 million and extend the maximum rebate amount of $130,000 to new homes valued between $1 million and $1.5 million. The federal government will provide Ontario a payment in the amount of $875 million, subject to passage of federal legislation, that may be applied against the federal five percent portion of the Harmonized Sales Tax that is being removed from new homes in Ontario. This partnership would provide an estimated $2.2 billion in total tax relief for housing in Ontario and provide homebuyers up to $130,000 in tax relief.

• Committing to working collaboratively to increase passenger service along freight-owned corridors across the Greater Golden Horseshoe region, including in Niagara, to support improved service along existing GO lines and the potential creation of new GO lines in the Greater Golden Horseshoe.

A transformational opportunity between Ottawa and the province – in partnership with local municipalities – the Canada-Ontario Partnership to Build offers a clear path forward to keep projects moving and Ontario and Canada’s economy growing in the face of American tariffs and global uncertainty. By partnering with the federal government, Ontario is ensuring critical infrastructure projects get built, new housing is constructed and more good-paying jobs are made available to Ontario workers, making this province more competitive now and for future generations.