The federal and provincial governments have announced nearly $106 million in funding a part of an effort to boost housing across Essex County.
The overall funding from the $8.8 billion Development Charge Reduction Program (DCRP) was announced Friday in LaSalle by Rob Flack, Ontario Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing for LaSalle, Essex, Lakeshore, Kingsville, and the County of Essex, which is receiving nearly half of the money.
The funding will help invest in infrastructure projects in return for a commitment to reduce or eliminate development charges for all housing types from March 30, 2026, to December 31, 2030, depending on the municipality.
The reduction in development charges across Essex County is expected to reduce the cost of building new homes by up to $40,862 per home, depending on the municipality, which includes reductions at both the upper and lower tiers.
County of Essex Chief Administrative Officer Sandra Zwiers says in a two-tier government, like in Essex County, there is a development charge at the local and county level.
“We offer separate services that require funding. If you’re in a single-tier municipality like in the City of Windsor, those services are combined under one municipality. We’re not charging double; there’s actually a fee for separate services offered by the two levels of government,” she says.
Zwiers says the county will receive up to $51.2 million for eliminating development charges for all housing types in 2026 and 2027 and reducing development charges by 75 per cent in 2028, 50 per cent in 2029, and 25 per cent in 2030.
“Earlier this year, we passed a by-law to approve development charges for the region, and we’ve actually implemented a four-year phase-in for the program. As was mentioned during the announcement earlier, we’re going beyond the requirements of the grant program and actually offering savings for a fourth year beyond the three-year eligibility,” she says.
The reduction in development charges, along with the investment in housing-enabling infrastructure, is expected to unlock 36,372 new homes in Essex County.
Zwiers says the county money will be used to help advance a lot of road infrastructure projects to deal with congestion and unlock housing in a number of areas.
“A number of the roadways in and around the Tecumseh-Lakeshore area. We’ve had previous announcements around County Road 42, County Road 19-Manning Road, and County Road 22, and around that geography primarily, but there are some other areas throughout the county as well,” she says.
The Town of LaSalle will receive $25.4 million for eliminating development charges for all housing types from March 30, 2026, to March 31, 2029, including in the Reaume Sanitary Service Area.
The Town of Essex is getting $8.8 million, $11.8 million is going to the Municipality of Lakeshore, and up to $8.4 million to the Town of Kingsville for reducing development charges by 50 per cent for all housing types from March 30, 2026, to March 31, 2029.
The two governments also agreed to provide relief on the full HST on eligible new homes from April 1, 2026, to March 31, 2027, saving homebuyers up to $130,000 off the cost of a new home. When combined with savings through the DCRP, these initiatives could save families across the region up to $170,862 on the cost of a new home.