The federal government is pledging $2.7 billion to build more than 18 housing projects across the city of Toronto, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced Wednesday.
The plan includes 5,600 rental homes, 1,800 of which will be “deeply affordable,” supportive or rent-controlled, according to Carney. He said 4,500 new homes will be under construction by year’s end.
He said the projects will take place in neighbourhoods hardest hit by rising rent and evictions, and will include a 16-story complex in Parkdale and another in Scarborough at 158 Borough Drive.
“For generations people have come from every single corner of the earth to build a life here in Toronto,” Carney said at a news conference Wednesday afternoon. “Crucial to this is to build a healthy rental market for every kind of renter.”
The announcement comes just months before a federal funding commitment to Toronto Community Housing (TCHC), which at present makes up more than half of the agency’s annual building capital repair budget, is set to expire.
Between 2026 and 2035, the agency anticipates $4.5 billion in required investments. At present, it has just $1.5 billion in planned funding — which could push as much as 54 per cent of the housing provider’s portfolio into critical condition.
The announcement is also happening against the backdrop of Ontario falling behind the province’s stated goal of building 1.5 million homes by 2031.
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This also marks the first time Chow and Carney will take questions together since the federal government rejected the province’s proposal to expand Billy Bishop airport.
Last month, Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon announced the federal government would be “exclusively” focused on approved safety upgrades already underway at Billy Bishop, rather than building the airport out to accommodate jets.
