Ontario Premier Doug Ford is expanding so-called strong mayor powers to a total of 49 communities across the province and is offering $1.2 billion in incentives for cities and towns to meet housing targets.
Ford’s announcement Monday, in a speech at the Association of Municipalities of Ontario’s conference, comes as the province’s housing starts are well below what’s needed to hit the premier’s target of building 1.5 million homes by 2031.
A sharp rise in population growth is also adding pressure to the province to build, and has been cited by Ford in defence of his controversial move to open up land in protected Greenbelt areas for housing development.
“Failing to act would worsen the housing supply affordability crisis,” Ford said Monday in announcing the new fund and strong mayor powers.
“Failing to act would hurt everyone in Ontario by driving up the cost of goods and services, and by hampering new job creation and investments. Failing to act would threaten to erode Canadians’ unwavering support for immigration at a time when our economic success depends on welcoming skilled newcomers to fill critical labour gaps.”
Strong mayor powers—which include allowing mayors to propose housing-related bylaws and pass them with the support of one-third of councillors, as well as override council approval of certain bylaws and prepare their city’s budget, instead of council—have been decried by critics as undemocratic.
The latest expansion involves municipalities with populations projected to exceed 50,000 by 2031, such as Aurora, Welland and North Bay, and will put the total number of strong mayors at 49 when the new ones come into effect Oct. 31.
The province had previously given strong mayor powers to the heads of 28 cities, though several of those mayors say they do not intend to use them.
Ford had previously assigned housing targets to 29 cities, but Newmarket has refused to commit to its target, so it has been left off the list of strong mayors. Monday’s 21 new additions to the strong mayor list will also have to agree to their targets in order to get the new powers.
Ford said conferring targets on those communities will see them qualify for the new three-year, $1.2-billion Building Faster Fund.
It will be open to municipalities that meet at least 80 per cent of their housing target, and could dole out bonuses to communities that exceed their target, Ford said.
“Let’s take Vaughan, another top performer right now and congratulations to Mayor (Steven) Del Duca and his council as well,” Ford said in his speech, giving several examples of the money cities could receive.
“At Vaughan’s current pace of building homes, they’re on track to exceed provincial targets by a whopping 140 per cent. Again, if these numbers hold, Vaughan will be eligible for $17 million in new funding.”
The exact parameters of what the money could be spent on still needs to be worked out, Ford said, but it’s intended to go toward housing-enabling infrastructure and other projects that support community growth, such as roads and water lines.
Municipalities have been raising concerns about a provincial law that cuts some of the fees developers pay, which the communities use to fund such infrastructure.
