Ontario and Federal Government Deploy $1 Billion for Housing-Enabling Water and Road Infrastructure

TORONTO, ON — Premier Doug Ford, Minister of Infrastructure Kinga Surma, and federal housing partners announced the joint allocation of $1 billion through the Housing-Enabling Water Systems Fund (HEWSF) and the Municipal Housing Infrastructure Program (MHIP), delivering capital to 40 high-growth Ontario municipalities.

Unlocking 200,000 New Homes by Modernizing Trunk Infrastructure

The funding packages provide non-repayable capital grants up to $35 million per municipality to expand municipal wastewater treatment plants, lay high-capacity regional water mains, and pave arterial access highways in Peel, York, Durham, Ottawa, and Kitchener-Waterloo. By funding foundational municipal civil infrastructure that municipalities could not otherwise finance without raising development charges, the joint government investment directly enables the construction of over 200,000 approved housing units across the province.

Premier Ford affirmed that homes cannot be built without pipes in the ground, stating that provincial and federal funding delivers the necessary infrastructure to get shovels in the ground faster.

Residential Construction Council and Municipal Mayors Endorse

Residential Construction Council of Ontario (RESCON) strongly commended the $1 billion infrastructure commitment for reducing housing development bottlenecks.

Regional municipal mayors praised the grants for preventing property tax increases on local homeowners.

Municipal Tender Release Schedule

Municipal water main and treatment facility construction tenders will be published by recipient regional governments in October 2026.