The Municipality of Chatham-Kent has received a big chunk of provincial money for exceeding provincial housing targets.
Associate Minister of Housing Rob Flack was in Chatham late Friday afternoon to announce the municipality received $440,000 and to offer congratulations for a job well done, adding Chatham-Kent should be "very proud."
The Ontario Housing Tracker shows that Chatham-Kent smashed its 2023 target for new homes started with 522. The target was 81. The tracker also shows Chatham-Kent leads the province in accomplishing its target of housing starts last year, exceeding it by 644 per cent.
The municipality is also close to reaching its 10-year housing target of 1,100 new homes started. The provincial housing tracker shows 1,067 new homes have been started across Chatham-Kent since 2022.
Mayor Darrin Canniff said both local and out of town developers are pitching in to fill the demand for affordable housing across Chatham-Kent.
"We've been setting records for a few years now and this year [2023] was no different. People want to be here in Chatham-Kent and housing is so critical. Our builders and everyone stepped up to make this happen and it's huge," said Canniff.
Mayor Canniff said the municipality hasn't yet decided how the $440,000 in provincial money will be spent, but added incentives to build more homes and off-setting the cost of a home are under consideration.
He added that all the players involved in building infrastructure are already planning ahead to have all the necessary infrastructure in place to meet future housing demand.
Flack admitted higher interest and lending rates are slowing down the pace of building across Ontario, but added developers are starting to come around.
"It is the number one reason why it slowed over the last half of last year. But if you take a look at January of this year over January of last year, I believe we're up in the 20-plus per cent in terms of starts. So, we're encouraged," Flack said.
Flack also urged the Bank of Canada to start bringing down interest rates because people are struggling.
He said he'll use Chatham-Kent as example everywhere he goes as he makes several stops around the province to announce housing funding.
Chatham-Kent MPP Trevor Jones said the municipality "hit it out of the park" with record new home starts.
“As our community experiences unprecedented growth, we extend our gratitude to all those contributing to the development and investment in Chatham-Kent,” said Jones. “With the support of provincial funds, our community will sustain its expansion while upholding principles of inclusivity, affordability, and diversity. Chatham is an exemplary location for residents to live, work, and thrive, attracting individuals from across Canada and beyond.”
Ontario has set a goal of building at least 1.5 million homes by 2031 and has assigned the province’s 50 largest municipalities with housing targets to help meet the goal. The province is encouraging municipalities to meet their targets through the creation of the $1.2 billion Building Faster Fund, which rewards municipalities that reach at least 80 per cent of their annual target with funding and with bonus funding for municipalities that exceed their targets.
