The Ford government is preparing to usher in more changes to how housing is planned and built in Ontario and is exploring ways to standardize and reduce the fees paid by developers.
Lowering development charges was one of a number of new promises outlined by the government in its speech from the throne on Tuesday.
The third-term Progressive Conservative administration said it plans to follow the example of Mississauga and Vaughan, where the two local mayors substantially lowered the fees builders paid.
Vaughan Mayor Steven Del Duca dropped development charges back to 2018 levels last year, while Mississauga lowered development charges on some projects by between 50 and 100 per cent.
Rob Flack, the new Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, said he believed development charges were important to the building process but had to be overhauled.
“Development charges are a necessary tool, I think we all know that but they’re too high,” he said.
He suggested while some larger population centres like Vaughan or Mississauga had lowered their fees, others had not. That’s something Flack said the province wants to address.
“One size doesn’t fit all, obviously, but when you take a look at some large urban centres and some have done well,” he said. “And in some of the bigger urban centres it’s too high, when you add the HST to it, it just costs too much, especially for the first-time homebuyers.”
Asked what she thought of the changes, Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow declined to comment, saying she didn’t have enough information.
Since 2022, the Ford government has said a series of sweeping changes to how homes are built and regulated has been in aid of building 1.5 million new units by 2031.
To achieve that goal, it would need to average 150,000 new homes every year — a figure it has repeatedly fallen significantly short of.
Asked Tuesday if 1.5 million homes by 2031 remained his target, Flack talked about tough market conditions. Pressed to confirm the number, he responded: “Sure, it is.”
In the short term, however, he said he hasn’t settled on an annual target to make his way toward the broader goal.
“I don’t have specific targets right now. I’m three weeks into the job, let me figure it out,” he said.