The Housing Accelerator Fund powers building surge in St. Catharines

St. Catharines is marking a record year for building permits, with increased housing starts and continued progress supported through the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF).

The City of St. Catharines issued building permits for 1,025 new dwelling units during year two of its HAF Action Plan, exceeding its HAF year-two target by 310 units and surpassing its previous nine-year trend by more than 500 units. The City supported 1,001 of those new dwelling units with $4.5 million in HAF financial incentives, including about 900 purpose-built rental units and 43 affordable housing units. Grants supporting accessory dwelling units also remained popular in 2025 with 44 new units approved for incentives.

The building boom in St. Catharines continues to build momentum in 2026, thanks to the City’s HAF program. In the coming weeks, permits for nearly 500 additional units are expected, with further major projects anticipated later this year.

“The City’s Housing Accelerator Fund program is working and driving measurable increases in housing supply,” says Mayor Mat Siscoe. “The City of St. Catharines is proud to be a Housing Accelerator Fund recipient and grateful for the Government of Canada’s support for our ambitious approach to addressing housing challenges in our community.”

In January 2024, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation announced it was investing $25.7 million over four years in the City’s plan to boost housing supply in St. Catharines through the Government of Canada’s Housing Accelerator Fund. The federal program provides financial support to municipal governments to expedite development of new homes. The City is awaiting confirmation from the CMHC if it will receive $6.4 million in year-three funding for 2026.

Over the first two years of the program, the City invested $12.8 million in HAF funding to implement policy and regulatory  reforms, as well as offer financial incentives aimed at driving measurable increases in housing supply. Year one focused on offering fresh incentives and processes to streamline housing approvals, creating the foundation for this year’s successes.

At the halfway mark for the City’s HAF Action Plan, the City is more than halfway to meeting its HAF housing target of 2,382 new dwelling units in four years. Since HAF began in 2024, the City has issued permits for 1,483 new units with 899 units remaining.

“Housing remains a top priority for St. Catharines, and the Housing Accelerator Fund has significantly benefited our community," said City CAO David Oakes. “This federal investment has spurred transformative policy changes and accelerated development through a variety of incentive programs. The impressive results reflect the exceptional dedication of our City staff and the building community, whose combined efforts have turned investments into new residential units, supporting the continued growth of our community.”

In 2025, the City also made progress on other initiatives outlined in its HAF Action Plan. Among the successes:

• The Municipal Development Corporation (MDC) – established with year-one funding - began executing its mandate and received five City-owned properties that were deemed surplus
• The MDC has executed an agreement of purchase and sale for a phased 800-unit rental development, along with a joint venture to develop a 22-unit rental building
• The City is monitoring sanitation capacity in priority development areas to determine future needs to support growth
• The newly launched Downtown Forgivable Loan Program, intended to create new dwellings in existing vacant spaces downtown, supported 12 new units
• Supporting the City’s Sunset Beach Renovation as a pilot project for green infrastructure, such as bioswales, rain gardens, tree trenches and permeable pavers which, among other things, help improve water quality, reduce flooding and mitigate urban heat impacts. This project will help inform policies and standards to support complete, climate-resilient communities.

Having met the majority of its milestones in the HAF action plan, and with measurable housing supply growth driven by its 31 completed milestones, the City looks forward to maintaining momentum and achieving even more housing growth in year three, pending confirmation of the third funding installment.