Ontario considers revisions to data

Municipalities say undercounting homes by CMHC costs them millions in funding

- ALLISON JONES

Homes under construction in Milton in 2023. The Ontario's Big City Mayors group says there are discrepancies between the CMHC data on housing starts and their own internal counts.

Ontario is considering revising its tallies of how many homes are built in cities and towns across the province, after some complained that undercounting has cost them millions in provincial funding.

As Premier Doug Ford’s government attempts to get 1.5 million homes built by 2031, it has assigned annual housing targets to 50 municipalities and promised extra funding to those who exceed or get close to them.

To qualify for money under the Building Faster Fund, which can be spent on housing-enabling infrastructure, municipalities need to have hit at least 80 per cent of their target of housing starts as calculated by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.

But the Ontario’s Big City Mayors group says there are discrepancies between the CMHC data and their own internal counts, and for four municipalities that were close to qualifying for funding it meant losing out on $23.3 million.