By the end of January, the federal government had announced about $3 billion in grants from its $4 billion Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF) to fuel housing construction. Yet, no one should expect to see an effect on supply anytime soon, says CHEC’s Industry Professor.
HAF was introduced by the federal government in the April 2022 budget but the first funding announcement wasn’t made until 17 months later in September 2023. It offers Canada’s largest cities cash to change zoning bylaws and regulations to make it easier to build higher density housing, especially around transit hubs, and other measures to “tackle NIMBYism” and speed construction.
The initiative aimed to create 100,000 homes across Canada by 2025 and 450,000 in the next decade. But Steve Pomeroy, industry professor at the Canadian Housing Evidence Collaborative (CHEC), says it will take at least three years for new housing to go through the planning, approval and construction process, nulling any immediate impact HAF may have on the current housing crisis.
“Some streamlining and improvements and acceleration of the approval process is good,” Pomeroy said. “And some of that money will actually get used to cover their overhead staffing costs so that they can manage that kind of stuff. The problem is, we’re in a crisis and supply is not going to solve a crisis for 3 years. There’s a mismatch between that particular initiative and the nature of the problem.”
Sean Fraser, federal Minister of Infrastructure, Housing and Communities, created a competition among municipalities for the funds, saying only the most ambitious housing initiatives will get a piece of the pie. Not all municipalities have agreed to play along, however, at least not initially. Under pressure from residents of single-family neighbourhoods, politicians in cities such as Mississauga, Oakville and Windsor have turned down the cash, only to return to the table with plans that better align with federal goals for higher density. Sometimes, as in the case of Windsor, their applications were still denied. Specifically, the feds are demanding an end to zoning rules that exclude anything but single-family homes. Instead, they are demanding that up to four units be allowed per residential lot, as of right, eliminating opportunities for appeal which often slowed the process by one or more years.
The application window is now closed.
Toronto has received the biggest commitment yet from the HAF with a $471 million announcement in December that should help the city build about 12,000 new units over three years. In the next decade, it should help facilitate more than 53,000 units.
The territory of Nunavut and the province of Quebec have also signed agreements for HAF funding. Sault Ste. Marie, Ont became the 31st city/territory/province to sign a deal with the federal government on Jan. 24.
10 Housing Accelerator Fund best practices
Source: Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC)
- End exclusionary zoning
- Stop low-density zoning and regulation that excludes housing types such as affordable and social housing in residential areas.
- Encourage high density by allowing mixed-use development and high-density residential as-of-right within proximity to urban cores and transit corridors.
- This includes adopting by-laws to adopt more as-of-right zoning measures, from the number of units to storeys.
- Make municipally owned lands available for housing through strategies such as disposition, acquisition and/or pre-development.
- Increase process efficiency by implementing new technologies or software to speed up development approvals, such as e-permitting.
- Prioritized/enhanced development approval process for rental and affordable housing.
- Comprehensive review of development charges and fee schedules including waivers, with a focus on permits associated with affordable housing.
- Reduce or eliminate parking standards to increase project viability, density and reduce carbon footprint.
- Eliminate restrictions related to height, setbacks, building floor area and others to allow a greater variety in housing types, including accessory dwelling units.
- Develop affordable housing community improvement plans or strategies/plans for the rapid deployment of affordable housing.
- Design and implement guidelines or pre-approved building plans for missing middle housing or specific accessory dwelling unit types such as laneway housing or garden suites.
- Develop grant programs encouraging the development of housing types that align with the Housing Accelerator Fund such as missing middle, row homes, purpose-built rental and/or that promote new/innovative construction techniques (modular, pre-fab, mass timber construction, etc.).
Cities approved for HAF funding to the end of January, 2024
Click on the city name for details.
| Date Announced | City |
| 13-Sep | London |
| 05-Oct | Vaughan |
| 10-Oct | Hamilton |
| 12-Oct | Halifax |
| 20-Oct | Brampton |
| 25-Oct | Kelowna |
| 03-Nov | Kitchener |
| 09-Nov | Quebec |
| 14-Nov | Calgary |
| 16-Nov | Moncton |
| 27-Nov | Richmond Hill |
| 15-Dec | Vancouver |
| 18-Dec | Mississauga |
| 19-Dec | Burnaby |
| 20-Dec | Winnipeg |
| 21-Dec | Toronto |
| 05-Jan | Nunavut |
| 09-Jan | Summerside |
| 10-Jan | Surrey |
| 12-Jan | Guelph |
| 15-Jan | Burlington |
| 17-Jan | Saint John |
| 17-Jan | St. Catharines |
| 18-Jan | Kingston |
| 19-Jan | Ajax |
| 22-Jan | Milton |
| 22-Jan | Richmond |
| 22-Jan | Fredericton |
| 23-Jan | Squamish |
| 23-Jan | Whitby |
| 24-Jan | Sault Ste. Marie |