It’s time for homes you can afford in communities you love.
Did you know that in most communities across Ontario, we’re not allowed to build the kinds of homes that are key to helping us solve the housing crisis?
Beautiful Brooklyn brownstones, European walkups, those picturesque four-plexes that line the streets of Montreal – under Ontario’s planning laws, none of these are allowed unless builders jump through major (and costly) hoops.
Instead, outdated planning laws keep us from building the mix of housing types we need to grow the number of homes in the communities we already spend our time in.
Think walk-up apartments, midrises, stacked townhouses…the list goes on and on.
Instead, most neighbourhoods are zoned for detached single-family homes – forcing far too many Ontarians into the false choice between tall and sprawl.
It’s time to try something else.
It’s time to say yes to more choices. Yes to more ownership opportunities. Yes to more vibrant communities to live, work and play.
It’s time to legalize housing.
High-rises are an important part of the housing mix in our cities, as are single-family homes. But there is also (literally) a lot of space in between.
By building more kinds of homes where people already live, we can help young Ontarians locked out of the housing market by creating more ownership opportunities close to the people and places they love.
We can breathe new life into our communities with homes that work for Ontarians in all walks of life – whether it’s seniors looking to downsize or families just starting out.
And we can get back to building homes that ordinary people can afford. Homes that work with the communities we already know and love, instead of sprawling onto our farms, forests and wetlands.
How we’ll get there
Last year, Mike Schreiner tabled the Homes You Can Afford in Communities You Love Act to legalize housing across the province – updating outdated planning laws that keep us from building apartments, multiplexes and other types of missing middle housing.
It’s a common-sense solution to build more homes and bring down soaring housing costs without sprawling onto our farmland, wetlands and green space – breathing more life into our communities along the way.
The Homes You Can Afford in Communities You Love Act will amend the Planning Act to:
- Allow for fourplexes and four story apartments in neighbourhoods province-wide
- Allow for mid-rise buildings ranging from six to 11 stories on transit corridors and main streets.
If you support Ontario Greens’ plan to legalize housing, you can write to Doug Ford and housing minister Paul Calandra telling them to pass the Homes You Can Afford in Communities You Love Act when it’s up for debate in the legislature on February 28.
Join the conversation
Make some noise with our action toolkit.
Write to the Premier and the Minister of Housing and tell them it’s time to legalize housing.
Raise your voice
Sign the petition calling on Doug Ford to legalize housing by passing the Homes You Can Afford in Communities You Love Act.
Once you (and all your friends and family) have signed, send the petition back to us at:
Green Party of Ontario
PO Box 1132, Station F
Toronto ON M4Y 2T8
The petitions will be presented in the Legislature when it resumes in February.
Donate Today
Our work is funded by grassroots supporters like you. With your help, we can build an Ontario where we tackle housing affordability, act on climate and improve our health. Every little bit helps.