County, four member of municipalities get up to $105.8 million in DCRP funding
Federal and provincial government representatives joined municipal leadership in celebrating funding under the Development Charges Reduction Program.
Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing (MMAH) Rob Flack, Jennifer McKelvie, Parliamentary Secretary to the federal Minister of Housing and Infrastructure, County of Essex Warden Hilda MacDonald and Essex County mayors, council members and local builders in announcing the funding under the DCRP.
One of the municipalities not receiving funding was the Town of Amherstburg, who opted not to enter the program feeling it didn’t work for the community and suggested a different approach in January.
“When all three levels of government work together on a common goal and put the needs of the community first, we can accomplish great things,” said Essex MPP Anthony Leardi.
Leardi added: “This investment will help municipalities across Essex County reduce the cost of building new homes. This is a great example of what we can accomplish when municipal, provincial, and federal governments collaborate to strengthen our communities and build a better future for the people who call them home."
The $105.8 million in funding was, according to the upper levels of government, was “in recognition of their commitment to reduce or eliminate development charges for all housing types from March 30, 2026, to December 31, 2030, depending on the municipality.”
The County of Essex will receive up to $51.2 million for Essex County for eliminating development charges for all housing types in 2026 and 2027 and reducing development charges by 75 per cent in 2028, 50 per cent in 2029 and 25 per cent in 2030.
The Town of LaSalle will get up to $25.4 million for eliminating development charges for all housing types from March 30, 2026, to March 31, 2029, including in the Reaume Sanitary Service Area.
The Town of Essex will receive up to $8.8 million, while up to $11.8 million is earmarked for the Municipality of Lakeshore and up to $8.4 million for the Town of Kingsville for reducing development charges by 50 per cent for all housing types from March 30, 2026, to March 31, 2029.
“We’re here today to talk about affordability,” said Flack. “We have an affordability crisis in this country, in this province and in this region.”
Flack noted that $200-$250 million of infrastructure needs to be replaced or installed over the next 10-15 years.
“Across Ontario, there is a need for critical infrastructure and housing of all types to support our fast-growing communities,” said Flack. “That is why our government is delivering the Development Charge Reduction Program alongside our federal partners. Together, we’re providing growing municipalities with the funding they need to ensure their communities remain a desirable place to live, work and raise a family.”
According to a news release, in March 2026, “Ontario and the federal governments agreed to a cost-matched structure to provide a combined $8.8 billion over 10 years for infrastructure investments in Ontario, with Canada’s share of the funding flowing through the Build Communities Strong Fund (BCSF).”
“Building more homes requires strong partnerships and investments that make it easier and more affordable to build," said McKelvie. “Through the Development Charge Reduction Program, we are working with Ontario and Essex County to reduce the cost of new housing while supporting the infrastructure needed to build complete, thriving communities. This investment will help make homebuilding more affordable for families in Essex County and support Ontario’s growing economy.”
McKelvie told the crowd assembled “Building Ontario Strong is essential to building Canada Strong.”
MacDonald said “Essex County is a place people want to call home” and that young families are looking for their first homes and seniors are looking to downsize.
“We need more homes,” she said. “We need greater variety.”
Amherstburg rejected the opportunity to participate earlier this year, citing too much risk and not enough reward. Town council unanimously passed a motion from Councillor Peter Courtney in January that both provincial and federal levels of government create a grant program that would see consumers directly reimbursed by upper levels of government of development charges in order to incentivize home purchasing.
Administration said at the time If the town were to cut DC’s by 30-50 per cent, revenue would be reduced by $3.5 million to $6.1 million. Deputy CAO Melissa Osborne said in January the development charge related to highways would be the only DC category to benefit from the grant, but she said every other development charge that would be cut to get the grant, money must be replenished to those charges.
Osborne stated there is a misconception that up to 90 per cent of reductions, either 30 or 50 per cent, could be covered by a grant. In Amherstburg’s case, road projects in the southeast quadrant such as Fryer St. and Lowes Side Road would have been covered, but the grant funding would have only covered development charges (DC’s) that would have been used in paying for that.
By Ron Giofu
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