Thunder Bay gets $709,280 after exceeding its provincial housing target

What happened

• The City of Thunder Bay received $709,280 through the Building Faster Fund for meeting housing progress targets.
• In 2025 the city broke ground on 243 new homes, 10% above its provincially set annual target.

Why it matters

• The money can be used for housing-related infrastructure so the city can keep building more homes.
• The province extended the deadline to spend Building Faster Fund awards to 2028, giving municipalities more time to use the funds.

By the numbers (from the release)

• Thunder Bay: 243 housing starts in 2025; 10% over its target.
• Building Faster Fund: a three-year program up to $1.2 billion.
• Municipal Housing Infrastructure Program: over $65 million across the Thunder Bay District, including over $28 million for the City of Thunder Bay (to enable 1,000+ new homes).
• Provincial housing activity (Jan–May 2026): 26,084 total housing starts (+17.2% year-over-year); 13,599 rental starts (+94.9% year-over-year).
• HST relief noted in the release: removal of HST on new homes from April 1, 2026 to March 31, 2027, saving homebuyers up to $130,000 according to the announcement.

Other context included in the release

• The announcement references related provincial measures such as the Development Charge Reduction Program and recent 2026 housing-related laws intended to speed construction and lower costs.