The Ontario government is awarding the City of Pickering more than $4.4 million through it Building Faster Fund as a reward for the city surpassing its 2025 housing targets.

Last year, Pickering broke ground on 1,477 new homes – bettering its annual target by 14 percent.

The city will use the funding to build more homes and community infrastructure.

“As one of Ontario’s fastest-growing cities, Pickering is proud to continue answering the call by increasing housing supply and creating more options for residents at every stage of life,” said Mayor Kevin Ashe. “With strong momentum in new home construction and a continued focus on building complete communities, we are helping to meet demand for new housing while supporting a high quality of life for our residents.”

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.

Municipalities have until 2028 to spend funds awarded through the Building Faster Fund.

Between January and March 2026, Ontario saw 13,743 total housing starts, an increase of 24.3 percent compared to the same period in 2025. Additionally, the province reported 6,439 rentals starts over the same period. That figure is an increase of 68.2 percent over the 12 months previous, and a record for rentals starts for that time of year.

• Regional
• Economic
• Government
• Projects