Today, Ontario introduced the Protect Ontario by Building Faster and Smarter Act, 2025.
The province says if passed, the bill would 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 also announced it is increasing its historic investment in housing-enabling infrastructure by adding $400 million in immediate funding to the Housing-Enabling Water Systems Fund (HEWSF) and Municipal Housing Infrastructure Fund (MHIP) for a total of nearly $2.3 billion over four years across the HEWSF and the MHIP.
“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 Rob Flack, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing. “The legislation we’re tabling today responds to recommendations and requests from municipal leaders, and will help build the homes and infrastructure Ontario needs.”
The province says the Protect Ontario by Building Faster and Smarter Act, 2025, if passed, and related actions would:
- Spur new construction by simplifying and standardizing development charges based on measures that were developed in consultation with municipalities, including measures that some municipalities have already implemented. Ontario will work with municipalities to continue simplifying, streamlining and reducing costly local development fees that can add hundreds of thousands of dollars to the cost of new homes.
- Remove barriers for Canadian manufacturers who want to introduce innovative materials, systems and building designs that could reduce construction costs and expedite projects.
- Streamline and improve planning and delivery for transit-oriented communities, creating more jobs and housing options near transit.
- Reduce costs and speed up project approvals with consistent building construction standards across Ontario municipalities.
- Significantly speed up getting shovels in the ground to build major transit projects by extending measures in the Building Transit Faster Act, 2020 to all provincial transit projects.
- Simplify, streamline and bring consistency and transparency to development applications, land use planning approvals, and contents of municipal official plans. These changes would make it easier and faster to build residential, commercial and industrial buildings within and across Ontario’s municipalities.
- Ontario’s road building standards can differ across the province’s 444 municipalities, causing unnecessary cost and delays. The province will consult with municipalities and stakeholders by fall 2025 on framework legislation for greater harmonization and clarified governance of municipal standards, which will lead to cost savings through more efficient design and technical review, greater construction efficiencies and streamlined procurement processes.
“We are pulling out all the stops to protect and build up Ontario during this time of economic uncertainty,” said 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 HEWSF, 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. Ontario has also invested approximately $700 million in MHIP. Combined with the new $400 million ($315 million for HEWSF and $85 million for MHIP) this brings the new total investment to nearly $2.3 billion.
“As a former mayor and past President of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario, I understand the day-to-day challenges municipalities face in getting shovels in the ground. This legislation reflects what we’ve heard from local leaders. It removes red tape, respects taxpayer dollars, and gets homes and infrastructure built faster where people need them most. This is just another tool our government is providing to help communities grow stronger and more resilient for future generations,” said Graydon Smith, Parry Sound-Muskoka MPP and Associate Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing.
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It’s dollar bills that creates housing, not legislated bills. Doug Ford found out that contractors work for profit and their own interests. They would have been more than happy to plow the green belt under, but Doug got his knuckles smacked for that. His declaration of however many hundred thousand homes in 10 years or so is just another quixotic imagining.
So now he is creating strong “mayors”. Unless they can each divide themself into a small group, swing hammers, lay bricks or fit pipes and wires, I’m afraid they will be suffering failure the way Doug is. He has promised more money for apprenticeships, which might help in 4 or 5 years. If he can find the people to train. Will we have to import help? Might that aggravate the housing problem? And where is the infrastructure to support these growing communities?
But these 200 or so strong mayors can do what? If each can complete 50 homes a year, that makes 10.000 homes per annum. Doug will have his houses built in 150 years.
I like the part where they all have reservations about using this special power they have been gifted. Like they fear becoming petty despots, ignoring and dismissing a percentage of the council the people voted for. Sort of by passing Democracy. Well why do it? Because that legislation can’t build houses any more than laws will prevent crime.
It’s all just a cop out in my mind. Doug sees the problem so he will recruit a bunch of little people to share the blame. This problem will require a concerted effort by Federal and Provincial governments in concert. Canada wide.
Doug will keep booze and tunnels as his own forte’.
I looked at the Ontario News item from the government about the bill. It is encouraging that the Ford government is now consulting and working with municipalities to reduce barriers like development charges to potential developers. Attention to “safe roads” as they propose may be helpful. ( will it include help to build side walks ?) The Association of Municipalities of Ontario is supportive of this housing initiative, but announced funding for water infrastructure and a housing related loan program for municipalities is probably only a start, as municipal revenue from development charges will be significantly cut.although also supportive, the mayor of Burlington, Marianne Mead Ward was quoted in the Ontario News item “our communities need more than just housing, -they need parks, schools, community centre, safe roads and other essential services that make a neighbourhood complete.” With new housing, I am not sure that municipalities could choose to enforce their own standards beyond current building code- energy efficiency, fire-smart, tornado/hurricane proof roofing etc. A missed opportunity for longer term affordability of homes built for the future.
There is no affordable housing in town due to the exorbitant cost of the District’s water and sewer.
$200/month or $2,400/year is typical. And rising.
Including the costs shown/hidden on our property taxes.
Highest in Ontario.
$100/month even if you are away and have zero usage.
The District has blown most of a BILLION dollars on water and sewer for only 12,000 connections. Another $100 million in Huntsville right now.
Build on a much cheaper, unserviced lot out of town beyond the District’s pipes.
Many people are not aware that the District hides around $1,000 of the water and sewer cost on our property taxes.
The cost depends on your assessment.
No other municipality puts costs like that on property taxes so it looks like we are paying reasonable water and sewer costs on the bills.
We are not.
Check your property tax bill and add up the costs under District Water A and District Sewer A.
Those charges only show up if the District happens to have their pipes in the road. Whether you are hooked up or not.
Sometimes those charges are there even if the District doesn’t have pipes in the road.
As Gravenhurst residents found out.
Search “scammers-are-everywhere-including-muskoka” for details.
Costs are so high in Muskoka it’s possible to save $1,000/year with extreme water conservation/substitution.
Search “Oppose Bracebridge Sewers” for inexpensive techniques.
And beyond decimating the regulatory framework, which has kept Ontarians safe, this just an extension of the failed housing policy that this government has been delivering since 2019 (6 long years). Clearly cutting red tape and regulations is NOT enough incentive to the private sector. Indeed, not only is Ontario NOT going to meet its 2031 housing target (set by the Ford government, Q1 2025 had the lowest number of housing starts since 2009.
Since 1945, EVERY large scale roll-out of affordable housing has been built by the governments of Canada. private builders have a different set of corporate priorities. In a time of crisis, the urgency of the moment can not be held hostage by the profit incentive.
It is time for the three levels of government to admit failure and change course. It is time for the three levels of government to actually develop and build affordable housing (#1 priority should be rental accommodation).
Someone is going to take a huge fiscal loss to deliver what the province needs. And no amount of tinkering with red tape and trivial tax incentives will be enough to allow private builders to create enough affordable .housing
Under this legislation, the Premier/Cabinet can designate a Special Economic Zone for ANY project, choose ANY proponents (i.e. developer friends), anywhere, anytime, for any reason, giving an exemption from ALL provincial and municipal laws (including environmental, Indigenous rights, labour, public safety, heritage and even the Environmental Bill of Rights). That is, any project is above the law. This is a devastating piece of legislation for all of Ontario.