More federal housing cash could mean thousands of new homes, says London mayor

London's mayor, city staffand non-profit organizations are welcoming new federal funding aimed at boosting the number of homes beingbuilt across Canada.

On Tuesday, Liberal Minister Anita Anandand Justice MinisterArif Virani announced $6 billion for a new housing infrastructure fundand a $400 million top-up to the Federal Housing AcceleratorFundandLondon was the first city to take advantage of it before funding ran out.

Most of that $6 billion in funding for wastewater and sewer-related infrastructureto enable housing development is being offered to provinces and territories that agree to terms laid out by Ottawa. They includeallowing fourplexesthroughout all municipalities a move Ontario Premier Doug Ford has said is "off the table."

However, $1 billion of that fund will beearmarked directly for municipalities, and London's mayor says that'sgood news.

"We've never seen this much construction before at one given time 20cranes in the sky, 7,100 units of high density [housing]under construction," Morgan said. "We are not able to build the next 7,100 units without getting more infrastructure in the ground."

He called the funding critical to cities like London, where housing development is near the top of both public and political priorities. The federal funding announcement was made in cities across Canada.

Morgan also said$74 million in federal cash previously allocated forLondon's housing development from the Housing Accelerator Fund, some of which was used for infrastructure projects, has been instrumental in achieving the high level of densification currently underway.

"We're going to be working on getting shovel-ready projects to submit as quickly as we possibly can," said Morgan. The new moneycould unlock the potential to build as many as 10,000 additional units in the city.

While it's unclear how much of the$1 billionearmarked for municipalities London will get, Morgan said he's felt the federal government has given London a fair share in the past.

A majority of the money is set to go to provinces that may or may not fulfilthe requirements needed to receive funding, but Viranisaid municipalities will eventually get money from the provincial side of the fund.

"We need ambition from the province, not just individual municipalities," Virani said. "If we don't see it, we'll deliver the money directly to the cities that want it, because this is a crisis."

Virani added that density and proximity to transit is a main theme of the requirements for provinces to qualify for the fund.

As for the $400 million top-up for the already-established Housing Accelerator Fund, London will not be able to apply for additional housing accelerator funding, according to London North Centre MP Peter Fragiskatos, who said the top-up is aimed at rural municipalities that weren't able to qualify before funding ran out.