Second round of funding rewards municipalities for progress toward housing targets
Guelph, Ont., December 15, 2025 — The Ontario government is awarding the City of Guelph with $3,692,960 through the second round of the Building Faster Fund, which provides funding to municipalities that achieve at least 80 per cent of their provincially designated housing targets. Guelph broke ground on 1,279 new homes in 2024, achieving more than 85 per cent of its 2024 housing target. This funding will help Guelph build more homes and community infrastructure and supports the province’s plan to protect Ontario by investing in infrastructure to support economic growth and keep workers on the job.
“Our government is relentlessly focused on kickstarting the housing sector,” said Rob Flack, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing. “That is why we introduced the Building Faster Fund, along with the Fighting Delays, Building Faster Act and the provincial HST rebate for first-time home buyers. We’re working alongside our municipal partners with investments to help build more homes and keep workers in tariff-hit sectors on the job.”
Announced in August 2023, the Building Faster Fund is a three-year, $1.2 billion program that is designed to encourage municipalities to speed up approval processes and get more homes built faster. The program rewards municipalities that make significant progress toward their targets by providing funding for housing-enabling and community-enabling infrastructure.
In addition to the Building Faster Fund, Ontario is investing more than $2 million in the City of Guelph through the Municipal Housing Infrastructure Program that will enable the construction of nearly 2,000 new homes.
“We are thrilled that Guelph has successfully met its 2024 housing target, which has enabled us to secure much-needed support from the Ontario government through their Building Faster Fund,” said Cam Guthrie, Mayor of the City of Guelph. “This funding will play a crucial role in our continued efforts to create diverse housing options for our community. I want to thank the provincial government for their support, as we work together to enhance our city’s livability and meet this housing crisis head on.”
The Ontario government is also helping to speed up the construction of new homes and infrastructure, including by streamlining development processes and reducing costs in close partnership with municipalities, through the Fighting Delays, Building Faster Act, 2025, Protect Ontario by Building Faster and Smarter Act, 2025 and the 2025 Ontario Economic Outlook and Fiscal Review: A Plan to Protect Ontario.
Quick facts
- From January to October 2025, Ontario saw 18,103 rental starts, an increase of more than 34 per cent compared to the same period in 2024. This is the highest level of rental starts on record for this time of the year, surpassing the total year-to-date rental starts for all of 2024.
- To help make way for more housing opportunities and support growing communities, the government is also giving municipalities more time to spend funds awarded through the Building Faster Fund, extending the deadline to 2028.
- To help lower costs for first-time home buyers and spur the construction of more homes, the province is proposing to rebate the full provincial portion of the HST for first-time home buyers of most new homes. Subject to passage of federal legislation, Ontario’s new rebate would eliminate the full eight per cent provincial portion of the HST for first-time home buyers on qualifying new homes valued up to $1 million, saving home buyers up to $80,000 off the cost of a new home when combined with existing provincial relief.