‘Stay tuned’: Housing minister says feds in ‘active’ talks on lowering development charges

Federal Housing Minister Gregor Robertson makes an announcement in Toronto with Mayor Olivia Chow Tuesday October 14, 2025.

Federal Housing Minister Gregor Robertson says there are “active” discussions underway on the Liberal government’s promise to lower development charges and more news is expected in the coming weeks.

“We want to see that combination of infrastructure investment and reduced building costs with development charges, and stay tuned. We’ll have more on that in the weeks ahead,” Robertson said during an announcement alongside Mayor Olivia Chow in Toronto Tuesday.

He made the comment as the federal government announced it will provide $283 million to help the City of Toronto upgrade sewer infrastructure in the Black Creek area, allowing for the construction of some 63,000 new homes.

“Infrastructure for cities is a huge part of (building) cost. Development charges – certainly here in Toronto and Vancouver, my hometown – are very closely connected to that infrastructure cost,” Roberston said. “That’s part of why we’re investing as Canada in Downsview and these major infrastructure opportunities that unlock tens of thousands of housing units.”

During the federal election campaign, the Liberals promised to cut municipal development charges in half for multi-unit residential housing for five years. They said they would do it by funding some of the municipal infrastructure development charges normally support.

“We initially were looking at 50 per cent reduction in partnership with provinces and territories. We’re working through that process now across the country,” Robertson said. “Certainly you’ll see some forward movement here this fall – the budget is November 4 – and I’m anticipating some next steps related to the budget. We’re really focused on bringing the cost of building down, that’s the goal here.”

The Black Creek trunk sewer was built in the 1960s and now serves more than 350,000 residents, according to a news release. But officials say population growth has stretched its usage to capacity, capping home permits in the area.

Chow said the city has long known the sewer is a problem for the York-South Weston area and upgrading the infrastructure will allow more homes to be built and do a better job of mitigating against extreme weather.

“We’ve been talking about it for a long time, and finally today, this project will finally expand the capacity, start the construction, protect homes, schools and small businesses from the impact of extreme weather,” Chow said. “It will also keep our western waterfront beaches clean after major storms.”

The city will be contributing $425 million toward the sewer upgrade.

No word on shelter money

Asked whether the federal government will put forward more cash to support Toronto’s shelter system, he said the federal government is already providing “an enormous investment in homelessness.”

Chow said recently that the city is facing a $107 million shortfall in providing shelter for asylum seekers and refugees on account of receiving less federal funding than expected.

Robertson said while he had nothing to add on shelter funding, he knows Chow has been in discussions with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Minister Lena Metlege Diab.

“My colleague, Minister Metlege Diab is focused on that issue, working with Mayor Chow,” Robertson said. “I know they’ve got an active dialog on that, so I’ll leave it to her to update on that front.”

Still, Robertson acknowledged “we’ve got work to do in the months ahead before the winter hits.”