Mayors from across the country are looking for solutions to housing affordability challenges.

Mike Savage, the Mayor of Halifax and Chair of the Big City Mayors’ Caucus, says a newly announced federal program could be one of those solutions. Announced in the last federal budget the new fund of 4 billion dollars has the potential to deliver real housing solutions and can help housing get built faster but only if designed – together.

He says they are looking for a federal-municipal partnership that they feel is key to Canada’s post-pandemic recovery and that the fund can empower municipalities to tackle the most serious local barriers.

Savage suggests the most serious local barriers to supply is: access to financing; availability and cost of land; as well as regulations to approve and review development applications.