Oshawa Mayor Dan Carter says the city is ready to take part in a new $8.8 billion Canada-Ontario program aimed at boosting home construction. The city has 1,600 residential units in its development pipeline downtown and believes another 2,800 could be built across Oshawa within two years if it secures funding from the Development Charge Reduction Program.
The program, announced June 1, 2026, gives federal and provincial money to municipalities that cut development charges by 30 to 50 per cent for at least three years. Oshawa has already been waiving development charges for new housing in its downtown since 2004, which means it already meets the program’s requirements.
“There are 1,600 residential units currently in the development pipeline in the Downtown Oshawa Urban Growth Centre and at least an additional 2,800 residential units city-wide that could potentially be built within the next two years, with appropriate funding,” Carter said in a statement posted on the city’s website.
Oshawa has a target of building 23,000 new homes by 2031 as part of Ontario’s goal of 1.5 million homes. Between 2022 and 2025, the city issued building permits for 4,990 units, according to its housing dashboard. The new units would go up in places like the downtown core and in the growing Kedron and Columbus communities near Highway 407, which together are planned to house about 46,000 people.
The program covers up to 90 per cent of eligible infrastructure project costs, with municipalities paying at least 10 per cent. Cities have until 10 a.m. on June 19, 2026, to submit their applications.
