TORONTO, Canada — Premier Doug Ford and Steve Clark, minister of municipal affairs and housing, will host a provincial-municipal housing summit on December 16 for Ontario’s Big City mayors and regional chairs. The summit will aim to identify further opportunities for collaboration as the province and municipalities continue to address the housing affordability crisis. Minister Clark announced the summit during his remarks to the Empire Club Thursday.
“Young families, seniors and all hardworking Ontarians are desperate for housing that meets their needs and budget,” said premier Doug Ford. “That’s why we’re inviting municipalities to the table to discuss how we can work together to build more homes faster and make homeownership more affordable. At a time when our government is hard at work building an economy that works for everyone, my goal for the summit is for the province and municipal partners to come up with concrete solutions that address the ongoing housing affordability crisis and allow more families to realize the dream of homeownership.”
The provincial government’s housing policies under More Homes, More Choice: Ontario’s Housing Supply Action Plan are working to make housing more affordable by increasing the supply of the full range of housing options, from single-family homes to midrise housing to apartment buildings.
In 2020, the year after More Homes, More Choice was implemented, Ontario saw the highest level of housing starts in a decade and the highest level of rental starts since 1992. However, to make homeownership more affordable for more people, more needs to be done.
“It’s no secret that Ontario has a housing crisis, as demand has drastically outpaced supply over the past decade. While our government’s policies are working to address affordability, including the tools we’ve provided to municipalities, we know that housing prices are still out of reach for so many Ontarians,” said minister Clark.
“As we move toward a period of economic growth, this housing summit gives us a chance to assess how the province and our municipal partners can build on our progress through continued partnership and identify new opportunities to collaborate on making housing more affordable for hardworking Ontarians and their families.”
