Ontario awards Sault Ste. Marie housing fund payment after surpassing target

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Ontario awards Sault Ste. Marie housing fund

Highlights

Ontario awarded Sault Ste. Marie a C$600,000 Building Faster Fund payment after the city exceeded its 2025 housing target for the third consecutive year.
Recent provincial legislation, including the Building Homes and Improving Transportation Infrastructure Act, 2026 and HST Relief Implementation Act, 2026, aims to accelerate homebuilding by streamlining development and lowering costs.
The Canada-Ontario Partnership to Build, valued at up to C$8.8 billion, supports new home HST removal from April 1, 2026, to March 31, 2027, potentially reducing costs by C$130,000 per unit.

Funding tied to housing target outperformance

As reported by Ontario Newsroom, the provincial government says Sault Ste. Marie qualifies for the latest Building Faster Fund payment because it achieved at least 80 per cent of its designated housing target and ultimately exceeded its 2025 goal by a wide margin. The fund, announced in August 2023, is a three-year program worth up to C$1.2 billion that channels money to municipalities making significant progress on housing delivery.

Ontario says the C$600,000 allocation will help the city expand housing-related infrastructure and support additional residential development. Rob Flack, minister of municipal affairs and housing, says the province is working with municipalities across Ontario to unlock more housing opportunities and accelerate construction.

Mayor Matthew Shoemaker says Sault Ste. Marie is one of a small number of municipalities to surpass its housing target for a third consecutive year. He says that performance reflects continued local progress and coordination with the provincial government to increase housing supply.

Broader housing and infrastructure measures

Beyond the municipal payment, Ontario says it is trying to speed up homebuilding through policy changes that streamline development processes and lower costs. The province points to the Building Homes and Improving Transportation Infrastructure Act, 2026 and the HST Relief Implementation Act (Residential Property Rebates), 2026 as recent measures aimed at supporting construction activity.

Ontario also links the fund payment to the wider Canada-Ontario Partnership to Build, valued at up to C$8.8 billion. Under that framework, the province has introduced a Development Charge Reduction Program to support housing-enabling infrastructure over 10 years, with priority for municipalities that cut and maintain lower development charges.

The agreement also supports removing the HST on new homes from April 1, 2026, to March 31, 2027, a measure Ontario says could reduce the cost of a new home by as much as C$130,000 for buyers. Collectively, the province says the initiatives are intended to improve affordability, help builders start projects sooner and sustain construction employment.

Our earlier coverage of Belleville’s Building Faster Fund allocation explained how Ontario is rewarding municipalities that exceed at least 80% of their assigned 2025 housing targets with infrastructure-focused funding to support faster residential development. That piece also outlined the province’s broader housing push, including the Canada-Ontario Partnership to Build, the Development Charge Reduction Program, and a temporary HST removal on new homes intended to lower costs for buyers and accelerate construction.

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