Federal government pledges $6B for housing in new infrastructure fund

The federal government is pledging billions of dollars in new money to tackle Canada's housing crisis, but much of it will be accessible only to provinces and territories that agree to certain conditions, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Tuesday.

Speaking in Dartmouth, N.S., Trudeau announced the federal government is creating a new $6-billion Canada Housing Infrastructure Fund.

«We're taking the challenge of building more homes, faster, in this country head-on … This is how we'll address the shortage of housing options for Canadians,» he said. «This is how we will make it fairer for younger generations who feel like they are falling behind because housing costs are too high.»

The money will be dedicated to the construction and upgrading of water, wastewater, stormwater and solid waste infrastructure, something cities have said is critical to building more housing.

Of the $6 billion in the fund, $1 billion will go directly to municipalities for «urgent infrastructure needs,» the Prime Minister's Office said in a news release.

Commitments for 'missing middle' homes required

The other $5 billion will be set aside for provinces and territories — but they can only access the money if they make certain commitments.

Those include allowing more «missing middle» homes, including duplexes, triplexes, townhouses and multi-unit buildings, and imposing a three-year freeze on development charges for cities with more than 300,000 people.

The federal government said the provinces will have until Jan. 1 to secure agreements. Territories will have until April 1.

If agreements aren't reached, the money will flow directly to cities.

The federal government is also topping up its housing accelerator fund with an additional $400 million over