Mississauga city lost potential funding worth millions of dollars after failing to meet regional housing targets.

In 2022, the Ontario government set housing targets for most major cities as part of its efforts to build 1.5 million homes by 2031.

An annual target was also set for each city, and they were informed that if they achieved 80% of housing starts, they would be eligible for funding as part of the province's "Building Faster Fund" for three years.

Cities that exceed their targets are also eligible for additional funding bonuses - but those who did not will receive nothing.

In a letter sent on February 14, Ontario Housing Minister Paul Calandra wrote that Mississauga is no longer eligible for this funding because it did not achieve 80 percent of its target.

He said, "I encourage you to work towards eligibility for future years of the program."

Mississauga was assigned to build 8,800 homes in 2023, measured by comparing monthly housing starts provided by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation along with long-term care bed data from the Ministry of Long-Term Care.

At the time the letter was sent, Mississauga had only reached 39% of its target, with 3,470 homes underway. Among those homes, there are 384 long-term care beds.

When the province began imposing the "Building Faster Fund" controls on municipalities, the city's acting mayor Joe Hornick said he feels "disappointed" by the province's decision, especially considering the changes the city has made to simplify housing.

While we remain committed to achieving our shared housing goal, we have been clear about the need to measure cities based on factors that can affect them. As a measure, housing starts create winners and losers based on market forces beyond municipal control. "All Ontario cities are going through different stages of growth and development, making use of new housing more problematic."

"Given the nature of construction in Mississauga, which is mostly complex and high-rise buildings, a project can take years to move from sales and marketing to the start of construction and completion."

He pointed out that the city has approved more than 31,000 housing units in the past three years. There are more than 12,000 units under construction and more than 33,000 housing units under site plan review.

Hornick said that the fast building fund is critical to the city’s infrastructure, and residents should not be penalized if the industry does not start building or if landowners choose not to submit development applications.

Mississauga city said it could have been eligible for $32 million through the Building Faster Fund. They pointed out that this is considered additional funding and was not included in their spending budget.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday about housing starts in Burlington—which are also quite low and will exclude them from funding—Calandra said their goal is to get shovels in the ground.

"We want to get people moving into their homes, and as I said, a permit does not mean they are moving into a home."

Any funds from the Building Faster Fund that are not granted to municipalities will be made available for other infrastructure-related projects through the application process. The cities of Mississauga and Burlington can apply for these funds.