Derek Baldwin
Published Feb 05, 2025

Belleville was informed Wednesday it has successfully secured its second largest federal grant in city history to spur on faster construction of more new affordable units with higher density amid a housing crisis in the municipality.

Nathaniel Erskine-Smith, Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities, announced the city will receive $10.5 million from a second round of Canada’s Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF) following application last year by the city for $16.8 million.

Launched in March 2023, HAF is a $4.4 billion initiative from the Government of Canada that runs until 2028. The first round of funding totaled $4 billion, and the federal 2024 budget added an additional $400 million to the program for a second round.

Belleville’s grant funding is designed to accelerate construction of 259 homes in the city over the next three years and up to 10,540 new units over the next decade to meet a growing population.

Belleville city council agreed last year to additional HAF application terms by the federal government to consider zoning changes to allow “four units as-of-right” in some areas of the city for greater density.

The city is also planning to build affordable housing units on surplus municipal lands it owns such as former Queen Mary School and the old city fairgrounds.

“We know that we need to make sure we want more homes built. We want to add supply, we want to remove barriers for the market to deliver the supply that we need, we’ve got to remove as many barriers as we can and then speed up processes,” said Erskine-Smith in city council chambers.

Asked by The Intelligencer if the funding allocation will be staggered, Erskine-Smith said the money will be delivered in a first payment of 25 per cent of the grant followed by tranches of 25 per cent as the city meets expected building targets.

He said the first payment is secure and hoped remaining portions of the $10.5 million would be honoured regardless of future governments.

The federal housing fund has been politicized, posited Erskine-Smith, adding it could potentially be on the chopping block if a new government is elected given remarks by Conservative Party of Canada leader Pierre Poilievre that he would scrap the program.

Erskine-Smith said the challenge to “Conservatives who want to cut the program, I would say, if we care about certainty, if we care about rewarding municipalities that are doing the right thing getting homes built, if we want to make sure we cut through red tape we should, you know, cross party lines for a program like this.”

Contrary to Poilievre’s comments in Aurora in December that municipalities “are bursting with cash, and they’re wasting it all,” Erskine-Smith countered he attended the recent Rural Ontario Municipalities Association (ROMA) conference where municipalities told him they are in dire need of senior housing and infrastructure dollars.

He said, “when I speak to municipal leaders, it’s quite the opposite. They’re all struggling with growth and paying for growth” to the point some are leaning into development charges to cover looming infrastructure challenges.

Erskine-Smith said Canada has “capacity to build 400,000 homes across this country every year and we’re clocking about 240,000 right now, well below the capacity and we’ve got to unlock as much of that supply and potential supply as we possibly can.”

Mayor Neil Ellis thanked the minister for the funding and lauded city staff members Catherine Tram, Andrew Tram, Greg Pinchin and Steve Ashton for preparing a “robust” HAF application.

City council was on hand for the announcement.

Ellis said, “staff created innovative initiatives and sent clear milestones that reflect our commitment to expanding housing options and increasing the supply of housing. Our city and action plan includes a variety of ambitious initiatives.”

“These initiatives aim to drive systematic changes such as developing pre-approved, detached accessory dwelling units, plans, also known as coach houses for public to use. Additionally, staff are updating and providing additional funding to our community improvement plan for affordable rental housing to offer enhanced incentives for development,” the mayor said. According to the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation, the “City of Belleville’s Action Plan commits to eight local initiatives which include systemic changes through rezoning to allow four units as-of-right, promoting a greater range of housing types, and exploring higher density permissions in strategic areas.” The development approvals process will be “streamlined to reduce red tape by delegating staff authority over minor rezoning and variances, with a concierge service for missing middle and affordable housing developments.”

“In addition, supply and affordability will be enhanced through the promotion of alternative housing solutions, a refresh of the financial incentives, and the disposition of city-owned lands for affordable housing,” the CMHC said.