A total of 4,142 new housing units reportedly broke ground in 2023 in the city, representing 120 per cent of the target. Pictured: Hamilton Mayor Andrea Horwath. Photo Credit: City of Hamilton.
The City of Hamilton recently received over $17.5 million in funding from the Government of Ontario through the Building Faster Fund since the city exceeded its 2023 housing target.
A total of 4,142 new housing units reportedly broke ground in 2023 in the city, representing 120 per cent of the target.
Included within that number are new rental units, ownership units, affordable housing, and low-rise, mid-rise and high-rise buildings.
A press release from the City of Hamilton states that the statistic for 2023 “represents one of the highest levels of new housing construction ever in the City of Hamilton.”
Ontario Premier Doug Ford also made comments regarding the funding announcement.
“Hamilton is getting it done on housing and we are glad to reward them for their success,” said Ford.
“I’m so proud of Mayor Andrea Horwath and her council colleagues for exceeding their housing targets last year.”
“My challenge to Mayor Horwath and to every mayor in Ontario is to get even more homes built in the coming years so we can make life more affordable and keep the dream of homeownership alive for families across the province,” Ford continued.
The Building Faster Fund was announced by the Ontario Government in August 2023 and is a three-year, $1.2 billion program that is meant to encourage municipalities to address the housing supply crisis.
Funding provided through the program is meant to be spent on “housing-enabling and community-enabling infrastructure.”
Municipalities that reach at least 80 per cent of their provincially-assigned housing target are eligible for some funding, while those that exceed their target receive the highest amounts available.
The provincial target for the City of Hamilton is for the municipality to have 47,000 new units by 2031.
Local Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) Neil Lumsden, who represents Hamilton East-Stoney Creek, says that the funds “will be vital in meeting the increased housing needs as more families choose Hamilton as their home.”
Lumsden’s counterpart, MPP for Flamborough-Glanbrook Donna Skelly, added that she is “hopeful that with the support of these provincial funds there will be even more homes built in Hamilton in the year ahead.”
In terms of Ontario-wide statistics, the province reached 99 per cent of its target of 110,000 new homes in 2023, a number which includes housing starts, additional residential units, and new and upgraded long-term care beds.
The province broke ground on 18,992 rental units in 2023 which is reportedly the highest number on record.
Nearly 10,000 additional residential units were created through methods such as converting homes into multi-unit residences or converting commercial space into residential and another 10,000 came through new and upgraded long-term care beds.
Based in Hamilton, he reaches hundreds of thousands of people monthly on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter. He has been published in The Hamilton Spectator, Stoney Creek News, and Bay Observer. He has also been a segment host with Cable 14 Hamilton. In 2017, he received the Chancellor Full Tuition Scholarship from the University of Ottawa (BA, 2022). He has also received the Governor General’s Academic Medal. He formerly worked in a non-partisan role on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.
