The Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing informed that by 2031, and based on the federal government’s newly released immigration targets, Ontario is expected to grow by more than two million people.  An approximate 1.5 million of those people will reside in the Greater Golden Horseshoe Region.

To accommodate that growth, and address Ontario’s housing supply crisis, our government is proposing to remove approximately 7,400 acres from the edge of the Greenbelt area, while adding an additional 9,400 acres for an overall expansion of the Greenbelt by approximately 2,000 acres.  This will provide for a minimum of 50,000 new homes, while protecting lands important for the environment.

Our government is taking further steps to handle the housing supply crisis by introducing new legislation, Better Municipal Governance Act, 2022.  If passed, it will allow municipalities to be equipped, and have the necessary tools to plan for future growth.

The Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing confirmed that an additional change from the proposed legislation would enable the mayors of Toronto and Ottawa to propose certain municipal by-laws related to provincial priorities (i.e. building more homes leading to expanding transit-oriented communities), and enable council to pass these by-laws.

The above measures are being taken by the Ontario government to actively address the housing supply crisis.