The cities of St. Catharines and Welland will share in a combined $4.5 million as a reward for making progress against their provincially designated housing targets last year.

The funding, which is being provided from the provincial government through the Building Faster Fund, reward municipalities that achieve at least 80 percent of their targets.

Under the arrangement, the City of St. Catharines will receive about $2.8 million for achieving 97 per cent of its housing target, and breaking ground on 1,064 new housing units. The City of Welland will receive about $1.7 million for for exceeding its housing target by 23 percent, and breaking ground on 528 new housing units.

“Ontario continues to grow, and we appreciate partners like St. Catharines and Welland who are committed to meeting the increased demand for more housing,” said Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Rob Flack. “Our government will continue exploring ways to support municipalities in getting more shovels in the ground, including through initiatives such as the recently announced Development Charge Reduction Program.”

Announced in August 2023, the Building Faster Fund is a three-year, up to $1.2 billion program that helps municipalities build more homes faster. The fund rewards municipalities that make significant progress toward their housing targets by providing funding for the infrastructure needed to support new housing and growing communities.

The Ontario government is also helping to speed up the construction of new homes and infrastructure by streamlining development processes and reducing unnecessary costs, most recently through the Building Homes and Improving Transportation Infrastructure Act, 2026 and the HST Relief Implementation Act (Residential Property Rebates), 2026.

The province also recently partnered with the federal government to launch the $8.8-billion Development Charge Reduction Program, which will provide funding for housing-enabling infrastructure projects over 10 years.

During the first five months of 2026, Ontario saw 26,084 total housing starts, an increase of 17.2 percent compared to the same period in 2025. The province also saw a record number of rental construction starts for that period of time, recording 13,599 rental starts, an increase of 94.9 percent compared to the same period in 2025.

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