Regional council approves target of 3,500 new affordable homes by 2030
Posted Mar 20, 2025 07:53:17 AM.
Last Updated Mar 20, 2025 11:25:04 AM.
Region of Waterloo council has officially approved a motion, updating a target to build 3,500 new affordable housing units over the next five years..
Previously, the region committed to building 2,500 affordable units between 2021 and 2025 through the Building Better Futures initiative, achieving that goal around a year early, along with exceeding that goal by over 200 units.
It comes as Canada continues to struggle with affordability; an upwards of 68 per cent of Canadians not able to purchase a new home. That’s up from twenty years ago in 2005, when half of all Canadians were able to do so.
While the latest approval isn’t a major overhaul, the new motion works to make some changes and additions to the ongoing program.
Some of those changes include adding new policies to preserve existing affordable housing units within the region and aligning the initiative with the region’s Plan to End Chronic Homelessness by adding additional focuses towards very low to low-income units.
Along with the new target approval, regional council also approved design changes for Westmount Road in Kitchener, which will see new bike lanes, reconstructed intersections, and more, all set to get underway in 2026.
With approvals for further affordable housing in hand, regional staff are now able to develop reports to bring back to council on future potential projects that are in line with the latest initiative changes and seek out further federal and provincial investments.
