Premier Doug Ford is digging in his heels on his stance on fourplexes even as the federal government offers new housing infrastructure funding to provinces that "broadly adopt" four units as of right.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on Tuesday a $6-billion Canada Housing Infrastructure Fund to build and upgrade water, solid waste and other infrastructure needed to construct more homes.
While $1 billion will go directly to municipalities for urgent infrastructure needs, the other $5 billion is being allocated for provinces and territories.
But there are conditions attached to the provincial funding including requiring municipalities to “broadly adopt four units as-of-right and allow more ‘missing middle’ homes, including duplexes, triplexes, townhouses, and other multi-unit apartments,” a federal press release stated.
Asked by The Trillium on Wednesday whether he would take up the federal government’s offer and allow four units as of right to be built across the province, the premier doubled down.
Calling the federal funding “good news,” Ford said municipalities should make housing decisions.
“I don't believe in forcing municipalities. I believe in working with municipalities. I've walked a mile in their shoes and Mayor (Steven) Del Duca, he knows best where to put the housing, not the province or for sure, not the federal government,” said Ford, at an unrelated announcement in Vaughan where Del Duca is mayor.
“And I'm going to leave that up to each municipality to decide because they know better than the province and the federal government,” Ford said. “What we've announced is well over $1.8 billion of infrastructure to enable them and give them the tools and give them the support they need to get the homes built.”
Ford previously complained about the federal government going over the heads of provinces to give municipalities money for loosening zoning rules.
A Ford government source said the province is open to negotiations with the federal government and believes it could potentially secure the funding even if four units as of right are off the table.
The source cited a recent deal between the City of Ottawa and the federal government as an example.
The federal government’s housing accelerator fund also set allowing four units across the city as of right as a precondition for accessing money. Some cities, like London, explicitly agreed to do so. Others, like Ottawa, took a slightly less aggressive approach but still got cash.
While some municipalities have already taken the step of allowing four units as of right to be built within their regions, the Progressive Conservative government-appointed Housing Affordability Task Force recommended allowing fourplexes as of right across the province.
The Ford government’s 2022 housing bill also allowed triplexes as of right across the province.
The premier first publicly voiced his opposition to the fourplex idea at a press conference nearly two weeks ago.
“I can assure you 1,000 per cent, you go in the middle of communities and start putting up four-storeys, six-storey, eight-storey buildings and right deep into the communities, there's going to be … a lot of shouting and screaming, that's a massive mistake,” he said in Richmond Hill on March 21.
Ford has since insisted that buildings of four storeys and above don't belong in traditionally single-family home neighbourhoods. He also said it'll be left up to individual municipalities to choose to implement four units as of right.
Four units as of right means someone could split their existing home into four distinct units without triggering a municipal rezoning process. Four storeys as of right means someone could renovate their home or build a new one with up to four storeys without municipal approval.
The federal infrastructure funding is something the Ford government has been calling for.
“The municipalities across Ontario, the provincial government, we're locking arms today and calling on the federal government again to step up for infrastructure,” Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy said at the same March 21 press conference.
As part of the federal funding announcement on Tuesday, the Trudeau government said provinces would have until Jan. 1 next year to ink a deal; otherwise, their allocation would be “transferred to the municipal stream.”
In the latter case, it’s unclear whether the provincial allocation would remain within a province or go into a countrywide pool.
Federal Housing Minister Sean Fraser’s office did not respond to questions asking for clarity before publication.
Del Duca, Vaughan’s mayor, said he’s “thrilled” about the federal funding.
“Infrastructure, particularly water and wastewater infrastructure, is by far the biggest challenge that we face collectively to deliver the housing where it's needed and when it's needed, so I'm excited about the amount of money that's being made available,” Del Duca said on Wednesday, adding that he’s waiting to hear more details about the funding that will flow directly to municipalities.
Del Duca said Vaughan has committed to allowing four units as of right and that he, too, believes municipalities are best placed to make such decisions.
“I do accept what the premier said — municipalities are in a very strong position to know what works in an individual municipality,” he said.
The mayor said he hopes the province won’t lose the federal funding, but that this “will be up to conversations that will take place between the provincial government and the feds.”
“I would urge all levels of government to focus on … yes, the process is very important, but it's the outcome that we need,” he said.
