London gets nearly $12M from province for surpassing target for new home builds

The City of London is getting nearly $12 million from a provincial fund aimed at speeding up home construction in Ontario amid an ongoing housing crisis.

The money come after the city surpassed a provincially-set target for new housing starts last year, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said during an announcement on the rooftop patio of London city hall on Monday.

"Two years ago, our government established the $1.2 billion Building Faster Fund to encourage municipalities to speed up approvals, issue permits and get shovels in the ground faster. And London is a perfect example of this," Ford said. Municipalities must meet their provincially-set housing target by at least 80 per cent.

"Today, I'm delighted to announce that the City of London achieved 95 per cent, which is outstanding of its 2024 housing target."

As a result, the city will receive just over $11.9 million as part of a second round of funding through the fund, Ford said.

Ford was flanked on Monday by Ontario's municipal affairs and housing minister, Rob Flack, along with London Mayor Josh Morgan, Deputy Mayor Shawn Lewis, city councillors Peter Cuddy, Hadleigh McAlister, Corrine Rahman and Jerry Pribil, and city staff.

"We have ramped up processes. We're getting housing permitted. We're removing barriers and red tape to processes. We're speeding up our timelines, and we're partnering with the province to get things done," Morgan said.

"But we know infrastructure is important too, and I want to commend this provincial government, this premier, this minister, Minister (Kinga) Surma, and others for the announcement of additional infrastructure dollars made just at the AMO conference last week ... We're ready to access those dollars."

With the skyline behind him, Morgan made reference to the Centro apartment towers being built by Old Oak Properties on Talbot Street. At 40 stories, its south tower is the tallest building in the city, having surpassed One London Place, which had held the title since 1992.

"We've already approved an even taller building at 53 storeys, which would be kind of right between those two at the forks of the Thames. We expect that to break ground sometime next year," Morgan said. "All this to say, housing doesn't just get built. It gets built through partnership. Housing is a shared responsibility."

Money from the Building Faster Fund can be used toward infrastructure that enables housing starts, such as site servicing, roads, and public utilities, and other expenses.

London broke ground on 3,723 new homes last year and issued 3,700 building permits for new housing. For 2025, at least 3,116 permits had been issued as of July 31, according to municipal figures.

Separately, city council approved a total of 22,890 new housing units last year, including a major development project in the east end. Municipal figures show the city has approved a total of 42,682 units, including 10,025 this year.

The city has pledged to build 47,000 new units by 2031. As of the end of July, the city says a total of 12,236 new units had been or were in the process of being built as part of that pledge.

The Building Faster Fund considers housing starts when it comes to municipalities meeting their provincial target, not units approved by council, meaning economic forces can play a major factor. Last year, the city just missed its target and missed out on millions in provincial funding.

Asked by a reporter if the province was willing to reward municipalities for things more within their control, Flack said he gave commitment to reviewing the fund's criteria while meeting with Morgan and other big city mayors last week.

"That being said, the details are not worked out. I understand your point, but still I want to make sure — I say this respectfully, Mayor, and we've had this discussion — permits are not homes. Yes, we can issue permits, but we want to see real results, like you've shown here this year," he said.