By Canadian Press

Municipalities say $600 billion in infrastructure needed to build 5.8 million homes

Nov 23, 2023 | 11:54 AM

OTTAWA — The Federation of Canadian Municipalities says new research it commissioned finds municipalities would need $600 billion in infrastructure funding to help build 5.8 million homes by 2030.

That’s the number of homes the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corp. says Canada needs to build to restore affordability.

Canadian municipalities are voicing their disappointment that the federal Liberals didn’t include a new infrastructure funding model in its fall economic statement this week, despite the prime minister promising one would come in the fall. 

The federation held a news conference in Ottawa today to call on the federal government to convene provincial, territorial and municipal leaders to discuss a new funding framework that takes economic and population growth into better account. 

The fiscal update that Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland presented earlier this week included few new housing policies, as the Liberal government acknowledges the pressure that high inflation and interest rates are putting on federal finances. 

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Mike Savage, the mayor of Halifax and chair of the Big City Mayors’ Caucus, says municipalities are facing even more fiscal pressure than other levels of government.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 23, 2023. 

The Canadian Press