Ottawa’s city planning staff are anticipating a significant shortfall in meeting provincial housing targets this year, which could result in the city missing out on tens of millions of dollars in funding. During a recent discussion on the 2026 draft municipal budget at the planning and housing committee meeting, it was revealed that Ottawa did not include any revenue from the province’s Building Faster Fund (BFF).
The BFF mandates that cities achieve at least 80% of their housing start targets. Last year, Ottawa fell short, reaching only 62.5% of the required 12,500 homes, leading to the province withholding funding. While this year has seen an improvement, with over 7,900 housing starts by the end of October, representing a 22% increase compared to the same period last year, the target for this year is higher at approximately 15,000 housing starts.
Marcia Wallace, the city’s general manager of planning, development, and building services, expressed doubt about reaching the funding threshold this year due to the current pace of construction. She estimated that Ottawa could lose over $30 million in funding, crucial for supporting affordable housing initiatives, with no opportunity to recoup the losses in the future.
City councillors raised concerns about the fairness of tying funding to housing starts, which are largely dependent on developers’ actions rather than the city’s approvals. Despite efforts to encourage development, councillors highlighted the challenges posed by market conditions beyond the city’s control.
Some councillors suggested that the province should distribute funding regardless of meeting targets to support housing initiatives. Wallace mentioned the city’s optimism about securing federal funding through the Housing Accelerator Fund, which focuses more on policy changes and building permit metrics, offering a more promising avenue for financial support in the coming years.
Overall, Ottawa faces the risk of missing out on vital funding for the second consecutive year, highlighting the complexities and challenges in meeting housing targets and securing financial support from different levels of government.