Ontario received 74% of federal housing funds, data show

VANCOUVER— A federal government fund providing financing for affordable housing projects needs to be rebuilt because it doesn’t do enough to help provinces outside of Ontario, advocates say.

The National Housing Co-Investment Fund, administered by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC), provides a mix of loans and forgivable debt to those building affordable housing and multi-use projects.

Data obtained by federal NDP housing critic Jenny Kwan show nearly 74 per cent of the financing for loans and grants has gone to Ontario projects from its inception in May 2018 to June 2020.

“The application process has been exceedingly slow and complicated, and it also means, and continues to mean, that little of the money is flowing out the door in an expeditious way to the community in need,” Kwan said in an interview.

“The investment fund is still heavily skewed in its funding to

Ontario. Ontario is the only province that’s really getting finalized agreements in large amounts and the rest of the country is still lagging far behind.”

Ontario projects received roughly $1.39 billion out of $1.46 billion awarded since the program began, most of it going toward repairs for Toronto Community Housing.

B.C., meanwhile, has received $9 million in finalized funding, or about 0.55 per cent of the $1.46 billion handed out so far, Kwan said.

Ahmed Hussen, the minister of families, children and social development, was not available for an interview, but department spokesperson Jessica Eritou said the government has made the largest housing investment in Canadian history for rental and community housing.

“We have made important progress, but we know how urgent the needs are, particularly in B.C. It is why we are absolutely committed to working with CMHC to get funds out the door faster,” she said in a statement.

Eritou said the numbers released by Kwan don’t provide enough context on the state of housing funding.

“The information failed to tell the story of the dozens of B.C. applications under the National Housing Co-Investment Fund being assessed, along with additional applications under other (National Housing Strategy) programs with applications nearing completion, or with loan agreements or memorandums of understanding in place,” she said.