The Municipality of Chatham-Kent is well on its way to meeting its provincial housing targets over the next several years after well exceeding its goal for 2023.
Associate Minister of Housing Rob Flack presented the municipality with a cheque for $440,000 on Friday through the province’s Building Faster Fund, which included an additional $146,667 for exceeding last year’s target.
Chatham-Kent constructed 522 homes in 2023, exceeding its provincial target of 81 homes by 544 per cent.
Flack said Chatham-Kent has become a benchmark example for other cities and municipalities.
“I’ve got a bunch of stops to make and Chatham-Kent will be front and centre of everything I say,” he said. “Every municipality in this province can build more homes, it’s just creating that environment to get it done.”
To continue to qualify for government funding under the initiative, the municipality will need to build another 578 new homes by 2031 — a goal that Mayor Darrin Canniff has said is more than likely to be met.
“We’ve been setting records for a few years now and this year was no different. People want to be here in Chatham-Kent and housing is so critical,” he said. “In Chatham-Kent, they recognize the climate, the people, the affordability. All those things are bringing people from outside the community here.”
Canniff added that all forms of housing are currently in demand from apartments to affordable and high-end homes.
“The funds we’re receiving from the province, we’re going to reinvest that into creating more demand for homes here in Chatham-Kent,” he said.
Exactly how the provincial funding will be used to attract homebuyers will be determined at a later date, Canniff said.
The mayor also pointed out that the provincially mandated “Strong Mayor Powers” that were given to mayors of Ontario’s largest municipalities were not needed to meet Chatham-Kent’s housing target.
“I rest my case. This has happened without intervening with any strong mayor [powers] because our council sees the benefit and the need to develop housing,” said Canniff.
In September 2023, Canniff turned down the extended powers from the Ontario government, which included tabling the municipal budget, instead of council, and hiring and firing department heads. It also allows mayors to veto council decisions that could interfere with provincial housing priorities.
While the Strong Mayor Powers have since been granted to Canniff despite his opposition, he has not utilized them.
