Realtors in Chatham-Kent are throwing their support behind the municipality’s call for additional infrastructure funding from the Ontario government.
The Chatham-Kent Association of Realtors has formally expressed its support to the mayor and CK council for the province to remove the $10 million cap on the Ontario Community Infrastructure Fund (OCIF), which is designed to help rural municipalities build and repair essential infrastructure.
Chatham-Kent is one of only three Ontario municipalities that have a cap on OCIF funding, the other two being Sudbury and Thunder Bay.
Based on the province’s own OCIF formula, which looks at population density, economic conditions, and infrastructure assets, municipal officials have said Chatham-Kent should be receiving $29.3 million for 2026. This leaves the municipality with a $19.3 million funding imbalance, which then falls on local taxpayers.
According to the municipality, Chatham-Kent is home to 20 per cent of the drains in Ontario, the most of any other municipality, and nearly five per cent of the bridges in Ontario. CK is also responsible for maintaining 1,533 km of paved roads, 194 km of surface-treated roads, and 1,624 km of gravel roads.
“The real estate market provides clear evidence of impact,” the association said. “Our members work with families and businesses who evaluate property tax rates when making location decisions. When taxes must compensate for provincial funding shortfalls, it creates measurable disadvantages for our communities.”
The CK realtor’s association has joined with the Sudbury Real Estate Board and the Thunder Bay Real Estate Board in a letter to Kinga Surma, Ontario’s Minister of Infrastructure, urging changes to the OCIF funding structure.
“This cap directly translates into higher property taxes for our residents and businesses, creating a competitive disadvantage that affects economic growth, housing affordability, and community development,” the realtors association said. “The impact is substantial and measurable.”
The realtor groups are urging the minister to remove the $10 million OCIF cap for single-tier municipalities and allow the funding formula to determine appropriate funding allocations based on actual infrastructure needs and economic conditions.
The groups also ask that the government consider expanding the overall OCIF budget to ensure that lifting the cap creates true equity across Ontario’s communities.
