The cities of Kitchener and Waterloo are receiving combined funding of nearly $16.7 million from the second round of the Ontario government’s Building Faster Fund for achieving at least 80 percent of their provincially designated housing targets.

Combined, the cities broke ground on nearly 5,000 new homes in 2024.

“We’re working closely with Mayor Vrbanovic, Mayor McCabe and with local leadership in municipalities across Ontario to get more homes built faster,” said Premier Doug Ford. “Today’s investment is just the latest step we are taking to protect our workers and communities by supporting continued growth in Kitchener, Waterloo and across Ontario.”

Kitchener receives nearly $10.3 million for achieving 105 percent of its housing target, breaking ground on 3,067 new housing units, exceeding its target of 2,917 units.

Waterloo, meanwhile, will receive $6.4 million for achieving 129 per cent of its housing target, breaking ground on 1,722 new housing units, exceeding its provincial target of 1,333.

Announced in August 2023, the Building Faster Fund is a three-year, $1.2 billion program that is designed to encourage municipalities to speed up municipal approval processes and get more homes built faster. The fund awards municipalities that make significant progress against their targets by providing funding for housing-enabling and community-enabling infrastructure.

From January to July 2025, Ontario saw 12,175 rental starts, an increase of 21 percent compared to the same period in 2024. This is the highest level of rental starts on record for this time of the year.