Premier Doug Ford and Prime Minister Mark Carney have signed the Canada-Ontario Partnership to Build, a historic agreement aimed at increasing housing supply, accelerating transit projects, and supporting economic development in Ontario. The partnership includes $8.8 billion in federal and provincial funding over 10 years for housing-enabling infrastructure, development charge reductions, and a Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) rebate to encourage new home construction, while also backing major transit initiatives across the province.
The agreement will help municipalities reduce up to 50 per cent of development charges, offsetting costs for new housing and making homeownership more affordable. It also supports key transit projects including the Waterfront East Transit line, GO 2.0 improvements, Alto High-Speed Rail, and priority projects in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area such as the Ontario Line and Eglinton Crosstown West Extension.
By partnering with municipalities and the federal government, Ontario aims to create hundreds of thousands of good-paying jobs, enhance local supply chains, and boost economic resilience despite U.S. tariffs and global uncertainties. The program emphasizes speed and efficiency in project approvals to ensure timely delivery of housing, transit, and infrastructure projects.
The partnership also aligns with Ontario’s Buy Ontario policy, prioritizing domestic suppliers and materials, and complements existing provincial initiatives like the Municipal Housing Infrastructure Program, Building Faster Fund, and ongoing investments in North America’s largest transit expansion, including a $14.8 billion commitment to GO Expansion projects.
