2024 Federal Budget invests in housing and infrastructure

“Today’s budget is making significant investments in Canadians and the cities and communities we live in, striking a balance between affordability measures important to our residents while also investing in infrastructure that is critical to meeting our mutual housing goals,” said Kitchener Mayor Berry Vrbanovic.“ On behalf of the City of Kitchener, I want to congratulate Deputy Prime Minister Freeland on listening to Canadians on what was needed in the federal government’s 2024-25 budget and delivering that in the fiscal plan announced today.”

The federal government’s budget begins to implement Canada’s Housing Plan, which was launched last Friday, and includes funding and policies that will help to build more housing across the continuum. Kitchener joins other Canadian cities in welcoming the announcement of additional infrastructure funding through the new $6 billion Canada Housing Infrastructure Fund, the $15 billion top-up to the Apartment Construction Loan Program, and the $1.5 billion Canada Rental Protection Fund which will all help to improve supply and protect affordable rental housing. Also of note, the budget included $500 million in funding through the Green and Inclusive Buildings program to support the construction of more community recreational facilities.

Additional funding of $250 million will go to support communities and their local response to homeless encampments. The government also announced a Public Lands for Homes Plan to lead a national effort to build affordable housing on federal, provincial, territorial, and municipal lands across the country.

“As a municipal partner, Kitchener is already moving in this direction by exploring opportunities to use community lands for housing purposes,” added Mayor Vrbanovic. “We are grateful that through this federal initiative and the Housing Accelerator Fund, Kitchener will have further opportunities to leverage this approach to get more of the housing built that our community needs.”

Minister Freeland also announced $150 million over three years, starting in 2024-25, for an Emergency Treatment Fund, open to municipalities and Indigenous communities to help provide rapid responses to emergent, critical needs related to the opioid crisis. Budget 2024 also proposes an additional $1 billion over four years for the Reaching Home program aimed at preventing and reducing homelessness.

“It is critical, now more than ever, to invest in our fast-growing community and in the process, ensure that nobody is left behind,” said Mayor Vrbanovic. “Investments such as those above, together with commitments to solving our housing crisis like we have seen with $42.4 million in funding through the Housing Accelerator Funding(HAF), as well as Rapid Housing Initiative (RHI) funding made available through our partners for Kitchener projects, like the two, YW Kitchener-Waterloo Block Line projects and the Working Centre’s 97 Victoria Street Making Home project, will make a real difference in getting more housing built.”

“Over the coming days, our teams will be reviewing the details of the federal budget to understand the full picture for our City. As always, City Council and I will continue to advocate for the supports we need in Kitchener to best serve our community. We look forward to working with the federal government in the coming weeks and months to learn how this budget can best help achieve our shared priorities for the Kitchener residents we both serve,” added Mayor Vrbanovic.

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For more information, please contact:
Shannon Weber, Chief of Staff 
City of Kitchener 
519-741-2200 ext. 7795 
shannon.weber@kitchener.ca