The City of Belleville will receive $1.24 million through Ontario’s Building Faster Fund after exceeding its provincially assigned housing target for 2025.
According to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, Belleville recorded 418 housing starts last year, nearly 35 per cent above its annual target. The Building Faster Fund provides financial incentives to municipalities that achieve at least 80 per cent of their assigned housing goals.
The province says the funding is intended to help municipalities invest in infrastructure needed to support population growth and new housing development.
Mayor Neil Ellis said the funding will help the City continue expanding infrastructure and services as Belleville grows.
The Building Faster Fund was introduced in 2023 as a three-year program designed to encourage municipalities to increase housing construction. Funding can be used for growth-related infrastructure that supports new residential development.
The announcement comes as Ontario reports continued growth in housing construction across the province. Between January and May 2026, Ontario recorded 26,084 housing starts, an increase of 17.2 per cent over the same period last year. Rental housing starts increased by nearly 95 per cent, reaching a record level for the first five months of the year.
The province also announced municipalities will now have until 2028 to spend Building Faster Fund allocations.
Separately, Ontario noted it is investing $59 million through the Municipal Housing Infrastructure Program in communities across Hastings County to support infrastructure for approximately 6,000 future homes, including more than $1 million previously allocated to Belleville.
Written by Branden Rushton
