Ontario Construction News staff writer
The City of Thunder Bay is one of just a few Ontario municipalities to meet new provincial housing targets for 2023.
According to the province’s housing tracker, 50 Ontario municipalities were given targets and just nine are expected to reach their numbers.
Ontario has set a goal of building at least 1.5 million homes by 2031. To meet this goal, large and growing municipalities have been assigned housing targets.
A tracker compares yearly new home construction starts in municipalities against housing targets for 2031.
On Oct. 25, the following municipalities are expected to meet their housing targets for this year:.
Chatham-Kent
- 10 Year Housing Target: 1,100
- 2023 Target: 81
- 2023 Housing Starts: 244
Greater Sudbury
- 10 Year Housing Target: 3,800
- 2023 Target: 275
- 2023 Housing Starts: 252
Guelph
- 10 Year Housing Target: 18,000
- 2023 Target: 1,330
- 2023 Housing Starts: 1,083
Town of Innisfil
- 10 Year Housing Target: 6,300
- 2023 Target: 462
- 2023 Housing Starts: 472
Kingston
- 10 Year Housing Target: 8,000
- 2023 Target: 587
- 2023 Housing Starts: 766
Pickering
- 10 Year Housing Target: 13,000
- 2023 Target: 953
- 2023 Housing Starts: 951
Sarnia
- 10 Year Housing Target: 1,000
- 2023 Target: 73
- 2023 Housing Starts: 81
Sault Ste. Marie
- 10 Year Housing Target: 1,500
- 2023 Target: 110
- 2023 Housing Starts: 102
Thunder Bay
- 10 Year Housing Target: 2,200
- 2023 Target: 161
- 2023 Housing Starts: 167
Toronto
- 10 Year Housing Target: 285,000
- 2023 Target: 20,900
- 2023 Housing Starts: 26,140
Welland
- 10 Year Housing Target: 4,300
- 2023 Target: 315
- 2023 Housing Starts: 513
Whitchurch-Stouffville
- 10 Year Housing Target: 6,500
- 2023 Target: 477
- 2023 Housing Starts: 694
In Thunder Bay, 167 new housing units include a 60-unit apartment building, started construction this year and some municipal officials have said they are sceptical about the target of building 2,200 housing units by 2031.
However, Mayor Ken Boshcoff says the provincial target is “ambitious but achievable” and the city has changed zoning rules to allow fourplexes, backyard homes, and additions to existing houses.
The provincial tracker does not include additional units built within existing homes, long-term care homes, or student housing.
Municipalities that achieve 80 per cent or more of their yearly targets are eligible for a cut of the province’s new $1.2-billion “Building Faster Fund.” That translates into about $600,000 for Thunder Bay.