Ontario Getting Homes and Infrastructure Built Faster and Smarter

May 12, 2025

Beamsville – 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 and Municipal Housing Infrastructure Fund for a total of nearly $2.3 billion over four years across the Housing-Enabling Water Systems Fund and the Municipal Housing Infrastructure Fund.

“We are keeping the hope of home ownership alive for young people across Ontario and in Niagara,” said Sam Oosterhoff, MPP for Niagara West.

“Our government’s significant investment in infrastructure is helping to lay the foundations for more housing, built faster, so the next generation can achieve the same dream of homeownership as the last.”

“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 Hon. Rob Flack, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing.

“The legislation we are tabling today responds to recommendations and requests from municipal leaders and will help build the homes and infrastructure Ontario needs.”

“I commend MPP Oosterhoff and the Ontario government for their leadership in advancing faster and more affordable housing solutions,” said Sandra Easton, Mayor of the Town of Lincoln.

“The funding and measures announced today offer vital support to municipalities and reflect our shared commitment to reducing red tape and ensuring housing is within reach for all Ontarians. In Lincoln, we remain focused on accelerating the development of homes and infrastructure – today’s announcement is a meaningful step forward for us and municipalities across Ontario in addressing critical housing needs.”

“We are pulling out all the stops to protect and build up Ontario during this time of economic uncertainty,” said Hon. 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 Housing-Enabling Water Systems Fund, 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. This includes previous investments of over $23 million to build water, wastewater and stormwater infrastructure to support the construction of new homes at the Prudhomme’s Landing development site in the Town of Lincoln and over $20 million to support home construction in Welland.

Ontario has also invested approximately $700 million in the Municipal Housing Infrastructure Fund. Combined with the new $400 million ($315 million for the Housing-Enabling Water Systems Fund and $85 million for the Municipal Housing Infrastructure Fund), this brings the new total investment to nearly $2.3 billion.

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 Housing-Enabling Water Systems Fund and Municipal Housing Infrastructure Fund. 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.