Build Canada Homes Project Call, Poverty Reduction Strategy & New Development Charge Guidance

Top Insights 

• New details released on opportunities for municipalities and District Social Service Administration Boards to work with Build Canada Homes to unlock new affordable housing for their communities. 
• AMO provided input into the province on its next 5-year Poverty Reduction Strategy, advocating for a comprehensive human services approach to reducing poverty. 
• New development charges payment deferral guidance from the province. 

Build Canada Homes: Call for Project Proposals Open 

The federal government’s Build Canada Homes (BCH) is set-up to focus primarily on developing non-market housing, supporting a mix of income needs as part of a national effort to double housing construction, restore affordability, and reduce homelessness. 

BCH released an Investment Policy Framework (IPF) to guide investment decisions and development activities. Calls for project proposals can be submitted on the BCH portal on a continuous intake basis. BCH is prioritizing proposals with these considerations in mind: 

• Ready to build 

• Affordability 

• Innovation and speed 

• Strong partnership 

• Made in Canada 

AMO is continuing to engage with BCH on program design advice to ensure it works well in the Ontario context and provides opportunities for all areas of the province to leverage opportunities to unlock affordable housing.

Poverty Reduction Strategy Submission  

AMO and the Ontario Municipal Social Services Association (OMSSA) have jointly submitted a proposal to the province seeking support to increase municipal capacity to address the impacts of poverty on people and communities. It is outlined in the submission Partnering for Impact: Human Services as Essential Social Infrastructure for Poverty Reduction. 

AMO and OMSSA outlined how a comprehensive human services response for those living in poverty makes both good social and economic sense for the government, workers, and employers. The government is urged to address the root causes of poverty with measurable outcomes, and undertake targeted actions on an urgent basis to alleviate poverty in Ontario including: 

1. Expand the supply of deeply affordable non-market housing 
2. Improve social assistance and employment programs
3. Continue investments in child care
4. Invest in transportation

AMO has also signed an open letter with Maytree and broad range of sector partners to encourage the province to take significant action to reduce poverty.

Development Charge (DC) Deferral to Occupancy: Guidelines for Implementation 

Bill 17 introduced new amendments to the Development Charges Act (DCA) this year. AMO developed new key messages for members on these changes and the value of DCs more broadly.  

One significant change defers the municipal collection of DCs at the building permit stage of development to the issuance of an occupancy permit, effective November 3, 2025.  

AMO previously explained the DC payment deferral in a Policy Update and has since received additional implementation guidance from the province in a letter from Minister Flack. New guidance on the interaction between the payment deferral with freeze provisions and interest charges states, in summary that: 

• No changes have been made to the DC freeze provisions in the DCA. 
• Municipalities cannot charge interest on deferred DCs to occupancy.  
• For any DCs deferred prior to November 3, 2025, interest accrued before this date will continue to be payable to the municipality, but municipalities are not able to charge additional interest on the deferral on or after November 3, 2025. 
• Developers do not need to enter into section 27 agreements with municipalities for early payment of DCs. Developers have the discretion to pay DCs any time before occupancy permit issuance without a formal agreement. 
• Section 27 agreements for alternative deferral arrangements, continue to not be subject to the rules regarding the legislative deferral (including the prohibition on new interest).