PC housing strategy doesn’t deliver what Niagara needs 

In August, Niagara Region released a comprehensive housing report that summed up the burning problem in an area of the province that attracts residents across the demographic spectrum.

“Niagara region, like communities across Ontario and throughout all of Canada, is experiencing housing pressures due to changing demographics, market trends and the long term impacts of decades of housing policy decisions,” staff highlighted. 

Like many parts of Ontario, Niagara Region is experiencing growing pains in its housing market, with a lack of supply in many areas, a disconnect between buyers looking for different styles of homes and builders used to constructing traditional supply, while billions of dollars for infrastructure needed to meet the PC government’s ambitious housing targets remain uncommitted.

(Niagara Region-Attainable Housing Strategy) 

The report’s focus was on those individuals experiencing difficulties in securing “attainable” housing, often due to a gap between income and the rapidly rising cost of home ownership or rental accommodation in a high-inflation economic environment.

Regional staff who work in the housing space clarified the difference between ‘affordable’ accommodation (generally obtained with the help of government subsidies) and ‘attainable’ housing which is within reach for those in Niagara whose households earn up to $108,900.

The definition of attainable housing described in the 40-page document included affordability, homes that are the right size for what residents need with a range of styles to suit the local market, and housing located within proximity to key services such as transit, education and healthcare.

The report highlighted that despite the PC government’s recent suite of policies to get 1.5 million new homes built across the province by 2031, “details of infrastructure and transit funds are not yet available.” This was in August, two years after Doug Ford pushed through Bill 23 and other pieces of legislation to support the construction of 1.5 million homes, without a plan to cover the tens of billions of dollars in infrastructure to build the required roads, transportation systems, hospitals, schools, waste management operations, water mains, sewers and all the other requirements of residents who will move into these new units.

The report showed how development approvals are not meeting the demand for higher density, smaller units that more and more residents are looking for.
 

A graphic included in the August Niagara housing report showing the mismatch between the types of homes in demand and what the building industry continues to construct.

(Niagara Region-Attainable Housing Strategy) 

When Bill 23, the ‘More Homes Built Faster Act’, was being pushed through the provincial legislature by Ford and his powerful PC majority government in the fall of 2022, the City of St. Catharines released a critical report, highlighting the shortcomings of the PC housing strategy.

Dated November 5, 2022 and written by senior staff in the City’s planning and building department, the report recommended council advise Ford, the housing minister and the finance minister that Bill 23 “fails to address the stated goals of increasing housing supply, housing affordability, and improved process and instead will result in the loss of environmental protections, heritage conservation, urban design, and accountability to the public, in addition to severe financial implications for the City and Region”. 

St. Catharines staff highlighted that Ford’s housing plan would: remove “conservation of land and protection of significant environmental features, allowing development within protected areas worthy of protection”; undermine “cohesive Regional systems oversight with the removal of the Region of Niagara from review and approval of planning applications and Official Plan creation”; eliminate “appeal rights for the public on Planning Act applications” and reduce “overall public consultation and involvement”; “transfer… financial responsibility from private developers to the individual property taxpayer” through the PC government’s elimination of critical infrastructure funding that developers have traditionally covered through building fees that local taxpayers will now have to pay; and demand that “73% of the City’s projected growth for the next 30 years…now be accommodated in 10 years, despite the building industry’s inability to deliver”. 

Staff recommended that council members in St. Catharines request the PC government to “defer passage of Bill 23 until such time as further evaluation, analysis, and meaningful consultation has occurred with municipalities, AMO (Association of Municipalities of Ontario), Niagara Region” and seven other agencies that work in the municipal planning space. 

Elected officials in the city responded, declaring that, “Council strongly recommends that substantial Provincial investment be provided to support municipalities to fund anticipated infrastructure upgrades to accommodate new intensification goals and compensate for decrease of development charge funding (developer fees) opportunities as outlined in the proposed legislation.” 

All the efforts were for not. Bill 23 received Royal Assent on November 28, 2022, without any of the changes or requested considerations raised by Niagara officials. 

The three largest lower-tier municipalities, St. Catharines, Niagara Falls and Welland, have been subject to the housing targets laid out under Bill 23. Only Welland has exceeded targets, with the other two municipalities described as having “not met” them, according to the Province’s Housing Tracker. 

Welland is expected to build 4,300 houses by 2031 and has already had close to half of the target (1,929) built since 2022. The municipality reports it also exceeded its 2024 targets. Welland received a $1.72 million grant for exceeding 2023 housing targets from the Province. 

The Housing Target Status for Niagara Falls is described on the Provincial website as having not been met. The municipality is expected to have 8,000 new homes, residential unit conversions or long-term care beds by 2031 but is at about 20 percent of the target (1,564) as of October. There will have to be more than 1,000 new homes per year to meet the target. The 2024 target for the municipality was 667, with a progress of 481 or 72 percent as of October.  

Niagara Falls officials have disputed the provincial figures related to its progress, which are based on monthly housing starts and ARU (additional residential units that have been converted) data provided by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), as well as long-term care bed data from the Ministry of Long-Term Care. A verbal report, with a three-page slide show was a late addition to the February 25th Niagara Falls Council Agenda, two days before the election, contending that the City’s records show that 2023 targets were met, and that the municipality will be within four percent of the 2024 target. Staff state that new secondary plans and the possible conversion of the existing hospital site will provide more developable land for housing. 

While Niagara Falls may be close to the Province’s housing target, Niagara’s largest municipality, St. Catharines is tracking at only 12 percent of its 11,000 housing starts by 2031. The municipality was only at 28 percent of the 2024 targeted goal with only 259 starts of a projected 917, as of October 2024. Despite the seemingly low numbers, St. Catharines received $2.3 million in funding through the Building Faster Fund. 

The mayors of Niagara’s three largest municipalities have all endorsed Doug Ford for premier. 

Fast forward to today. The PCs appear, according to polls, ready to form another majority government, but the Party’s candidates have not addressed the same housing gaps detailed in Niagara reports over the past couple years. Across the region, the four provincial PC candidates have been largely silent during the campaign, not responding to media questions, absenting themselves from all-candidate community events and sticking to scripted election lines released by the provincial Party.

A critical question they have not answered is how the billions of dollars needed across Niagara for infrastructure (previously covered by developers prior to the passage of Bill 23) will be paid for. Do local PC candidates support the requirement of municipal property owners to cover the funding gap, which could double local taxes?

None of the PC candidates—Sam Oosterhoff (Niagara West), Sal Sorrento (St. Catharines), Ruth-Ann Nieuwesteeg (Niagara Falls), Bill Steele (Niagara Centre)—responded. 

Of the candidates from the other three parties, Wayne Gates, the NDP incumbent in the Niagara Falls riding, was the only candidate to respond.

“Housing starts have been going down on Ford’s watch. To reverse that trend and build homes people can afford, we are proposing to crack down on real estate speculators driving up housing costs and double the supply of permanently affordable housing by providing funding, low-cost financing, and public land for nonprofit and co-op housing providers,” Gates stated. “We will also legalize fourplexes and work creatively and cooperatively with municipalities to increase density around transit corridors to create stronger, accessible, affordable, and better-connected neighbourhoods, while respecting the unique characters of communities like Niagara-on-the-Lake, Chippawa, and Ridgeway/Crystal Beach.” 

During the Your TV Niagara debates, Jeff Burch, the incumbent and NDP candidate in Niagara Centre, which includes Welland, also spoke to the need to put an end to land speculation. Burch called for the need to fill the “missing middle” on the housing spectrum by allowing more basement apartments or “Fonzie flats” above garages. Jennie Stevens, the incumbent and NDP candidate in St. Catharines, during her debate, mentioned her party’s proposal to get back in the business of building affordable housing. 

None of them addressed how they would help municipalities pay for the necessary infrastructure to support new home construction. 

The local Liberal candidates—while not addressing questions from The Pointer—also spoke to housing challenges during the televised debates. Damien O’Brien, the candidate in Niagara Centre touted his Party’s proposal to eliminate the land transfer tax. St. Catharines candidate Robin McPherson spoke to her experience as a City Councillor and how crucial communication is when combating NIMBY-ism and explaining the benefits of housing intensification, especially along transit corridors. 

The local PC and Green Party candidates have not participated in debates or responded to media inquiries during the campaign. 

The PC housing platform states a re-elected PC government will standardize the studies required for development and create a “province-wide tool to accelerate land use planning.”

The PCs are sticking with the heavily criticized policies introduced through Bill 23. If re-elected, the PCs state incentives will continue to be offered to municipalities through the Ontario Build Faster Fund, even though housing targets set by the PCs have not been met by some that have received funding.  

The platform also takes a not so veiled shot at Liberal leader Bonnie Crombie, by specifically noting the PCs will work with mayors such as Carolyn Parrish, Crombie’s successor in Mississauga, “to bring a rational, common-sense and sustainable approach to development charges.” While Crombie was outspoken as mayor regarding the potential loss of development charges to fund municipal infrastructure, the Ontario Liberals are proposing to end development charges on new housing units under 3,000 square feet, a move lauded by the Ontario Real Estate Association (OREA). 

On February 19th, eight days in advance of the Provincial election, OREA released its 2025 Ontario Election Housing Report Card. The Association is promoting  policies that “will ensure future generations continue to have a shot at owning a home.” 

Unlike most “report cards” OREA did not issue a pass or fail grade to the four main provincial parties, however, a quick look at the document clearly shows the PC Party was lacking in check marks compared to its rivals; surprising considering the Party’s pro-growth and development leanings. Also, former PC leader, Tim Hudak, had been the CEO of OREA for seven years up until July 2024. 

OREA put together “ten bold solutions” that the Association argues “if implemented, will help lower the cost of homeownership, improve consumer confidence in the real estate market, and increase housing supply across the province.” 

The methodology for the housing report card was a survey based on ten priorities. The parties were given nine days to respond to the survey. The NDP and Liberals responded, while the PCs provided a written submission. OREA’s analysis also included details from the parties’ housing platforms available online. 
 

(Ontario Real Estate Association)

The PCs only fully committed to one of OREA’s ten solutions to scale innovative approaches to development by encouraging modular housing “by creating housing innovation guides to help consumers navigate building processes and financing options will help bring more housing supply to market.” All three of the other parties were also supportive of promoting and scaling innovative approaches to encourage housing. 

OREA described the PCs as only “partially” committed to improving the efficiency of the Landlord & Tenant Board and limiting municipal development charges to reduce the upfront cost of home ownership. The PCs were the only party opposed to one of OREA’s planks, that of ending exclusionary zoning by allowing fourplexes as-of-right. Doug Ford has remained steadfast against the policy despite it being recommended by his own Housing Affordability Task Force. The PCs did not respond to the remaining six OREA priorities. 

Both the NDP and the Liberal Party were supportive of all ten of the priorities identified by OREA. The Association, in a release, highlighted the NDP’s proposal to double the supply of affordable homes, legalizing fourplexes, increasing density around transit corridors and restoring in-person hearings at the Landlord and Tenant Board. 

The NDP’s housing platform signals a return to a provincially built home program. The Party is proposing Homes Ontario, “the largest homebuilding program in generations” that will use grants, low-cost public financing, public land, and fast-tracked approvals to enable the construction, acquisition, and repair of “at least 300,000 permanently affordable homes.” The NDP will also assist municipalities by uploading the cost of housing, emergency shelters, and homelessness prevention programs back to the province, while working with municipalities to create incentives for affordable housing “including development charge easements.” 

The Liberal housing platform also calls for “fair” phased-in rent control and establishing the Rental Emergency Support for Tenants (REST) Fund, a rent-bank to provide short-term, interest-free loans for tenants facing financial emergencies to prevent evictions and homelessness. 

The Green Party also supports ending exclusionary zoning by allowing fourplexes and is committed to another OREA solution – allowing single family dwellings to be divided into multiple condominium units to create more attainable homeownership opportunities within existing neighbourhoods. The Green Party platform also offers zero-interest loans of $25,000 for homeowners to add affordable rental units onto their primary residence. 

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