Ontario is currently well behind the pace needed to accomplish that goal.Īs long as the municipality formally commits to their target through a housing pledge, the province will grant them strong mayor powers, which include allowing the head of council to propose housing-related bylaws and pass them with the support of one-third of councillors, override council approval of certain bylaws, and prepare their city's budget, instead of council. The Progressive Conservative government has assigned housing targets to 50 municipalities - their portion of the 1.5 million homes that Premier Doug Ford has promised to get built by 2031. Several Ontario municipalities have turned down the province's offer of strong mayor powers because of concerns either with housing targets the government has tied to them, or worries that the powers would lend themselves to a 'dictatorship.'
