Mississauga has received another $28.2 million from Ottawa to help get more affordable homes built faster in Canada’s seventh-largest city.
The money, which arrived last week, is the third of four installments to be delivered to the City of Mississauga through the federal Housing Accelerator Fund.
To date, the city has received more than $84 million in federal housing cash via the HAF, with a fourth installment — another $28.2 million — to come at a later date.
The HAF deal between Ottawa and Mississauga was struck in December 2023 with the goal of delivering more affordable homes in the face of an affordable housing crisis in the city, and across the province and country.
City officials said the federal fund is designed to support the delivery of new homes, including important housing-enabling infrastructure.
Mississauga will use the latest $28.2 million to:
Support the funding available for grants under the city’s multi-residential stream of the Affordable Rental Housing Community Improvement Plan. This program offers incentives to private and non-profit developers and is designed to get shovel-ready rental housing projects with affordable units under construction as soon as possible, the city says.
Offset shortfalls resulting from reductions to development charges and fees. The city’s development charges incentive program, which was recently expanded to provide deeper incentives for purpose-built rental apartments, is helping kickstart construction to make housing more affordable, according to the city.
City council decided last week to extend by more than a year the City of Mississauga’s development charges incentive program. The objective, city officials said, is to get “shovels in the ground on much-needed housing for Mississauga families.”
The incentive program, through which development fees have been significantly reduced and in some cases eliminated, now gives developers until Dec. 31, 2027 to take advantage of what’s being offered by the city.
Previously, incentives were offered for residential developments with building permits issued prior to Nov. 13, 2026.
Development charges are fees paid by builders to municipalities when properties are constructed, with the money used to help pay for infrastructure needed to support the new structures and their residents. The fees help pay for such things as roads, water supply and parks.
City officials have in the past year or so reduced or eliminated various development charges with the goal of encouraging builders to provide more rental units in Canada’s seventh-largest city.
Efforts began in January 2025 with the passing of a motion from the Mayor’s Housing Task Force that provided incentives for residential developments with building permits issued prior to Nov. 13, 2026 (now extended through December 2027).
The city then built on the program with its decision last month to further cut development charges in the ongoing effort to get more rental housing built. Effective in February, development fees were eliminated altogether for construction of one-bedroom (plus den) and two-bedroom or larger units that are part of a purpose-built rental residential apartment development.
Mayor Carolyn Parrish said the city has taken “bold and proactive steps” to help increase the supply of homes urgently needed by residents.
“The Housing Accelerator Fund has been instrumental in advancing this work and we are grateful to the federal government for their support and partnership,” she said in a news release. “Predictable, long-term funding from the federal and provincial governments will be critical to our continued success. Stable revenue tools allow cities like Mississauga to plan with confidence and deliver the complete, connected communities our growing population depends on.”
Gregor Robertson, federal minister of housing, said Ottawa is committed to supporting communities as they build “practical, locally driven responses” to housing pressures and homelessness.
“Through the Housing Accelerator Fund, we are providing incentives to local governments to remove barriers to housing supply and accelerate the creation of new homes. Mississauga’s third HAF payment reflects the successful implementation of initiatives outlined in its Housing Action Plan, helping establish a strong foundation for long-term housing growth in the city.”
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