On March 30th, 2026, Prime Minister Mark Carney and Premier Doug Ford signed the Canada-Ontario Partnership to Build Agreement aimed at reducing development costs and improving housing affordability across Ontario.
The agreement includes a shared $8.8 billion infrastructure investment over 10 years to support housing-enabling infrastructure projects in Ontario with funding provided to municipalities that reduce and maintain lower development charges (“DCs”). The Province’s backgrounder on the agreement can be found here.
The Federal and Provincial governments will agree on a list of priority municipalities where DCs are seen as a significant barrier to housing construction and will target municipalities covering 80% of Ontario’s population, which suggests the program will be concentrated in high-growth urban areas, including the Greater Toronto Area, where development charges are typically highest. In these priority municipalities, the Provincial and Federal governments will require substantial residential DC reductions in the range of 30 to 50% to be maintained for a minimum of three years. Municipalities that have already implemented DC reductions will be prioritized if they maintain those reductions for a minimum of three years. The new infrastructure funding is intended to offset much of the financial impact of these DC reductions on municipalities.
Municipal uptake will be a key variable. Municipalities seeking funding will be expected to identify infrastructure projects that are ready-to-build and meet criteria established jointly by the Provincial and Federal governments. The timing of implementation will be critical. Projects already in the approvals pipeline may not benefit unless municipalities move quickly. In addition, Ontario will not introduce new taxes or charges which would hinder housing supply during the three-year implementation period, though the scope of this commitment and its application to existing municipal revenue tools remains to be clarified.
Our team stays up to date on the ever-changing Provincial policy landscape and changes that impact land use planning across Ontario. Should you have any questions regarding this initiative or its implications for your development project, our Land Use Planning Team is ready to assist.