BUILDING DURHAM

We’re pleased to inform you that the Ontario Energy Board (OEB) has approved the Enbridge Gas 2026 roll-over for our Demand Side Management programs. Our Residential New Construction team with start to recruit builder participants for Energy Star for New Homes (ESNH) or equivalent & Net Zero Energy Ready (NZER).

Builders can claim December 2025 results towards 2026 if they have signed a 2026 application and the homes are tested after the date on the application. 

We are also happy to announce that 5 new municipalities are eligible for ESNH or equivalent due to Bill 17:  Ajax, King, Mississauga, Pickering, Toronto

Please be advised that service installations will not be scheduled between December 13, 2025, and January 12, 2026. Emergency work will be completed as an exception.

If you have any questions, please contact your respective Enbridge gas account manager.

Thank you for your attention to this important update.

The Protect Ontario by Building Faster and Smarter Act, 2025 (Bill 17) amended the Development Charges Act, 1997 to allow payment of the local/lower tier and regional/upper tier portion of development charges for non rental residential developments to be deferred from building permit issuance to either (a) issuance of an occupancy permit or (b) first occupancy of the building.

To operationalize this policy and improve collection certainty, the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing amended Ontario's 2024 Building Code (Ontario Regulation 163/24). 

Effective November 3, 2025, occupancy permits are now required for all non-rental residential projects with deferred development charges. A municipality cannot issue the occupancy permit until the municipality confirms the deferred development charges are paid in full. Municipalities will be allowed up to 10 business days to complete the occupancy inspection for these developments in order to allow time for processing of the payment of deferred development charges, if necessary. 

Municipalities may continue to issue building permits as they do today. This is a timing change only for collection of municipal development charges where the applicant elects for deferral. Construction requirements determining when a building is safe for occupancy are also unchanged.

The updated provisions of the regulation are attached here. French translation available on request to codeinfo@ontario.ca . 

The Ontario Home Builders’ Association (OHBA) recognizes the provincial government’s work in taking reasonable measures to manage the Ontario economy during very uncertain times. While this Fall Economic Statement does not introduce any significant new policy initiatives; we are encouraged that opportunities may still exist for the government to implement much-needed measures due to tariffs and other economic challenges to stimulate the Ontario home construction industry and keep over 40,000 workers employed. 

Ontario’s Financial Outlook

The government is projecting deficits of $13.5 billion in 2025–26 and $7.8 billion in 2026–27, followed by a surplus of $0.2 billion in 2027–28. 

The net debt-to-GDP ratio is projected to be 37.7% in 2025–26, slightly lower than the forecasted 37.9% from the 2025 Budget. This ratio fell to a 13-year low last year. The net interest as a percentage of operating revenue ratio for 2025–26 is forecast to be 6.4% and remains close to the lowest levels it has been at since the 1980s. 

Ontario’s real GDP growth has been impacted by U.S. trade policy and tariffs and is projected to decelerate from 1.4% in 2024 to 0.8% in 2025 and 0.9% in 2026, in line with the projections at the time of the 2025 Budget. Real GDP growth is expected to pick up in subsequent years with projected increases of 1.8% in 2027 and 1.9% in 2028. 

It is heartening to see the additional funding of $50 million for the Better Jobs Ontario program. This program supports skills training to help job seekers train and upskill for in-demand positions. We recognize the importance of our skilled labourers, and that without additional support, Ontario was looking at losing up to 40,000 skilled trades jobs. This is an important measure to support our members and tradespeople across Ontario. 

The Minister of Finance reaffirmed the Ontario government’s commitment to remove the 8% PST for first-time home buyers on new homes valued up to $1 million, pending the passing of federal legislation (Bill C-4). With the ratio of net debt to GDP falling to a 13-year low, this will free up surplus revenues that can be diverted to priority projects. We firmly believe that taking decisive action to address the housing crisis and to restart home construction in Ontario must be one of these priorities.  

With that in mind, OHBA will continue to advocate for the removal of the provincial portion of the GST on ALL new home construction, not just for first-time home buyers.  According to research conducted by OHBA, first-time home buyers currently represent approximately 5% of the new home market. It will take bold action by all levels of government to unlock supply and restore affordability. We will continue to call on the Government of Ontario to lead by taking bold action that will make homeownership a reality for younger generations.  
We anticipate that the next few years will be marked by uncertainty and low economic growth. Consumers are not making the largest purchase of their lives if they aren’t certain of the future. OHBA remains committed to continuing to lobby the provincial government to expand this PST relief for all new-home sales in Ontario, and spur both the purchase and ongoing construction of new homes across the province. 

The full Fall Economic Statement can be found here. 

Key messages related to our industry if you are speaking to your Member of Provincial Parliament can be found here.

Yesterday, members of the Durham Region Home Builders Association gathered at the beautiful Harmony Events Centre in Oshawa for our Annual General Meeting. The afternoon featured an engaging fireside chat between Christine Giannone, Chair of OHBA, and Scott Andison, CEO of OHBA, expertly moderated by our Director Tiago do Couto.

The discussion showcased all the incredible work OHBA has accomplished in government relations on behalf of our members and provided insight into what’s ahead for our industry.

We also celebrated leadership transitions as Past President Shannon Hunt (GEMTEC) graciously welcomed Steve Brockstein of Tribute Communities into his new role as President for the 2025/2026 term. Shannon’s dedication and contributions over the past year were truly commendable, and we thank her for her outstanding service.

We are proud to introduce and formally acknowledge our 2025/2026 Board of Directors:

• Immediate Past President: Shannon Hunt – GEMTEC
• President: Steve Brockstein – Tribute Communities
• First Vice President: Dave Murphy - CedarOak Homes
• Builder/Renovator Directors:
• • Aries Lobrin – Sunny Communities
  • Peter Henley – Great Gulf
  • Theresa Gamble – Brookfield Residential
  • Bilal Khanani – Khanani Developments
• Trade Directors:
• • Jacqueline Van Londen – Alma Mechanical
  • Iain Cooper – Brass Inc
• Supplier Directors:
• • Michelle Vestergaard – Enbridge
  • Dan Moulton – Clarington Home Hardware
• Professional Directors:
• • Andrea Keeping – SCS Consulting
  • Brett Lewandowsky – D.G. Biddle and Associates
• Directors at Large:
• • Tiago do Couto – Minto Communities
  • Evan Holt – Shibley Righton LLP

We are thrilled to welcome back our returning board members and excited to work alongside our new directors as we continue to strengthen and grow our association.

Stay connected! We encourage all members to get involved by joining a committee, sharing your ideas, and helping shape the future of our industry. Keep an eye out for upcoming events and opportunities to network, learn, and make an impact!

OHBA is working with Natural Resources Canada’s (NRCan) Office of Energy Research and Development (OERD) to offer an information session supporting the launch of an off-site construction challenge in Winter 2026 to drive innovation in support of:

During this session, OERD will provide an introduction to the challenge (the first in a series of funding opportunities) and will guide an interactive discussion on key aspects of its framework. Your input will help them better understand the types of multi-unit residential buildings (MURBs) being built today as well as key considerations for projects that use off-site construction methods.

The session is scheduled for Wednesday, Nov 19^th from 9:00am until 10:30am on Zoom.

Please use the following registration link to receive the calendar hold: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/X9TZqCwdRGa-NNMGnnmKjg

Questions about the session can be sent to Miyoko Oikawa at OHBA – moikawa@ohba.ca

The Ontario Home Builders Association (OHBA) appreciates the provincial government for taking the first step towards providing real relief for both home builders and consumers with today’s announcement of the removal of the 8% PST for first-time home buyers on new homes valued up to $1 million. 

For too long, families have not been able to purchase homes, as the prices required for builders to cover their costs have been unaffordable to the average consumer. Both the federal and provincial governments have recognized that the fees and taxes collected by government, roughly 36%, are a barrier to home ownership, to increased home construction and represent a significant part of the affordability crisis. This announcement is a necessary step in recognizing an important component of Ontario’s housing challenges. 

Provincial estimates indicate that the measures announced today could provide first-time home buyers with as much as $80,000 in provincial tax relief, increasing to $130,000 when combined with the proposed federal rebate. 

Without this stimulus, 40,000 direct and indirect jobs in our industry are at risk. While a partial PST exemption could prompt some renewed construction activity and signal a return of momentum, Ontario’s housing economy won’t fully rebound without broader, more comprehensive policy support that restores builder confidence and investment capacity, to generate the kind of stimulus Ontario’s housing sector urgently needs.  

OHBA and our federal and local counterparts have advocated relentlessly for meaningful tax reduction to improve housing affordability.  We recognize that the number of first-time home buyers in the province is a very small segment of the population - less than 5%.  

This announcement is a move in the right direction and a good start, but OHBA and our local members will continue to call on the province to remove the 8% PST from all new home purchases to provide the residential construction industry the stimulus it desperately needs and to truly make new home prices more affordable. 

We will be monitoring the outcomes of this initiative in collaboration with the government and will continue to provide our best advice on how to deliver the broader stimulus Ontario’s housing market desperately needs. 

For all policy inquiries, please contact Kirstin Jensen, Vice President of Policy, Advocacy, and Relationships at (647) 888-2792 or kjensen@ohba.ca

The Government of Ontario introduced legislation titled the Fighting Delays, Building Faster Act, 2025 (Bill 60), which is designed to accelerate housing approvals, strengthen infrastructure delivery and reduce processing bottlenecks across municipalities.  

The legislation builds on previous reform efforts stemming from the Protect Ontario by Building Faster and Smarter Act (Bill 17) introduced on May 12, 2025, by introducing more than 40 initiatives across three strategic themes: building homes and communities, improving the operations of the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) and keeping people moving.  

For industry stakeholders like OHBA members, this bill signals a continued recognition of the need to address red tape, identify additional opportunities for streamlining, create standardization, all necessary to deliver the homes Ontario needs. 

The Fighting Delays, Building Faster Act, 2025 introduces a series of practical measures aimed at cutting red tape, improving consistency across municipalities, and unlocking the delivery of homes and infrastructure faster. If passed, the legislation would: 

• Streamline approvals and site plan control to reduce costs, create consistent standards, and ensure new housing and infrastructure can move forward in time for the spring building season. 

• Modernize the Ontario Building Code through a comprehensive review focused on reducing unnecessary regulatory burden while maintaining safety and quality. 

• Accelerate water and wastewater servicing in Peel Region by enabling a new public corporation model for Mississauga, Brampton, and Caledon, aimed at ensuring local infrastructure keeps pace with housing growth. 

• Tackle delays at the Landlord and Tenant Board by improving the speed and fairness of proceedings, addressing system abuse, and encouraging more rental housing to come online. 

• Standardize road construction rules across municipalities to eliminate duplication and get critical road projects built sooner. 

• Protect road capacity and mobility by prohibiting lane reductions when municipalities install new bike lanes. 

• Support agricultural housing needs by simplifying approvals for septic systems serving seasonal farm worker accommodations. 

Below are a further breakdown of the key sections and their related items as reflected in the government’s technical briefing tables, linked at the end of this member release (pages 6-10; 13-15; 17-19 of the deck).  

This bill is comprised of more than 40 initiatives to create conditions for accelerated development of housing and transportation infrastructure and cut red tape under three themes: 

Building Homes & Communities  

This section centres on accelerating housing supply, improving planning and approvals, and better aligning infrastructure with growth. 

Key initiatives include: 

• Reduce Building Code burdens - a full review of the Building Code to modernize requirements, cut unnecessary costs and red tape, and ensure safety standards remain strong. 

• Streamlined Development Charge (DC) administration – improving clarity, certainty and timing for DC collection by proposing further legislative and regulatory changes to standardize and streamline DCs. The updates aim to prevent land costs from unfairly inflating DCs; reduce disputes between builders and municipalities over who funds growth-related infrastructure; improve transparency and public access to DC reporting; and changes to prevent municipalities from deviating from statutory DC freeze rules. 

• Continued streamlining of application processes and official plans – exploring ways to streamline local planning and Building Code processes by leveraging digital platforms and data-tracking tools to improve efficiency and transparency and exploring technologies like artificial intelligence to automate reviews and enhance consistency, and continuing work on simplified and standardized official plans that are more predictable and streamlined. 

• Water and wastewater public corporation for Peel Region – to speed up housing-related infrastructure, the province will establish a new public water and wastewater corporation for Mississauga, Brampton, and Caledon, targeting full operation by January 2029. This builds on discussions that BILD and industry members have been leading through the Peel Transition Board. 

• Green roofs and green development standards – the province will prohibit Toronto from requiring green roofs or alternative roof surfaces and phase out local green development standards imposed via planning act application processes.  

• As of Right Minor Variances – further exploration of Planning Act amendments that would allow for certain variations from standards (like height) “as-of-right” on specified lands, eliminating many minor variance applications and speeding up approvals. 

• Provincial policy tests – provide the Minister expanded authority to make planning decisions with similar flexibility found under MZOs to advance provincial housing priorities more quickly, with all decisions publicly posted for transparency. 

• Records of Site Condition and Excess Soil – proposed amendments would remove the need for a Record of Site Condition where contamination risk is low or for office-to-residential conversions, while updating O. Reg. 406/19 to exempt aggregate reuse depots from waste approvals, enable greater soil reuse between projects, add flexibility for stormwater pond sediment management, and reduce unnecessary sampling. 

Fighting Delays at the Landlord & Tenant Board 

Recognizing the rental market’s dependence on tribunal efficiency, Bill 60 also tackles the operation of the LTB with multiple reform items. Bill 60 includes measures to improve the efficiency and fairness of the LTB to help address the significant backlog and restore predictability to Ontario’s rental housing system. The province will expand the number of adjudicators, both permanent and part-time, to increase capacity and reduce wait times. 

A new digital case-management system will modernize scheduling, document sharing, and file tracking, while an improved triage process will prioritize urgent cases such as health and safety issues, illegal evictions, and landlord hardship. The legislation also provides stronger enforcement tools for the Sheriff’s Office to ensure tribunal orders can be carried out more effectively. 

To further streamline operations, the LTB will simplify forms and online filing processes and introduce plain-language communications for applicants and respondents. Finally, new service standards and public reporting will increase transparency and accountability across the system. 

Keeping People Moving

To ensure housing growth is supported by infrastructure, Bill 60 includes measures to expedite transit and highway capacity, utility coordination, and municipal partnerships. Bill 60 introduces several measures to ensure Ontario’s housing growth is supported by the infrastructure needed to move people, goods, and services efficiently. The legislation includes amendments to accelerate approvals for key highway and transit projects, including priority corridors under the Public Transportation and Highway Improvement Act. 

The province is also advancing policies to better integrate transit-oriented communities by aligning land use and station-area planning to support higher-density housing near major transit hubs. Improvements to utility coordination will require earlier engagement between builders, municipalities, and service providers to minimize construction conflicts and reduce costly delays. 

To keep projects on schedule, the government will establish new municipal–provincial partnership frameworks that promote joint delivery and shared funding for critical infrastructure. Targeted traffic and safety upgrades will help ease congestion on major growth routes, while strategic corridor investments will focus on infrastructure that directly unlocks new housing opportunities across high-demand regions. 

Related Consultations and Regulatory Proposals 

Alongside the Fighting Delays, Building Faster Act, 2025 (Bill 60), the province has launched a series of Environmental Registry of Ontario (ERO) postings to gather feedback on complementary reforms that will shape how housing and infrastructure are delivered across Ontario. 

These consultations include: 

• Planning Act Amendments (Bill 60, Schedule 10) — proposed changes to further streamline approvals and support faster housing delivery. ERO 025-1097 – October 23-November 22, 2025 (30 days)  

• Enhanced Development Standards – Lot Level (outside of buildings) — consultation on streamlining or removing local development standards that add cost and complexity to projects. ERO 025-1101 – October 23-November 22, 2025 (30 days) 

• Proposed Regulation – Minimum Lot Sizes — proposal to establish province-wide minimum lot sizes to create greater consistency in residential development permissions. ERO 025-1100 – October 23-November 22, 2025 (30 days)  

• Simplifying and Standardizing Official Plans — consultation on aligning official plans with the Provincial Planning Statement, 2025, to ensure a consistent, predictable planning framework. ERO 025-1099 – October 23-December 22, 2025 (60 days) 

• Water and Wastewater Governance in Peel Region — proposed Municipal Act, 2001 amendments to transfer jurisdiction over water and wastewater from the Region of Peel to lower-tier municipalities and a standalone statute to authorize the establishment of water and wastewater public corporations. ERO 025-1098 – October 23-November 22, 2025 (30 days)  

• On-Farm Worker Housing Sewage Systems — policy proposal to expand Building Code provisions to permit additional on-farm sewage systems supporting seasonal worker housing. ERO 025-0899 – October 23-December 7, 2025 (45 days)  

These consultations represent a significant opportunity for OHBA members to provide feedback and help shape the implementation of the government’s broader housing and infrastructure reform agenda. 

Next Steps 

The introduction of Bill 60 reflects a clear progression on government policies aligned with OHBA’s advocacy priorities. 

Members should begin reviewing how these upcoming reforms may affect current projects, timelines, municipal relations, and partnerships. OHBA will continue to monitor the legislative and regulatory progression of Bill 60, participate in consultations, and provide detailed implementation guidance for members. 

Read the Ontario Newsroom release here.

The Technical Briefing Deck can be found here.

For all policy inquiries, please contact Kirstin Jensen, Vice President of Policy, Advocacy, and Relationships at (647) 888-2792 or kjensen@ohba.ca

Following statutory and regulatory changes by the Province of Ontario, the Central Lake Ontario Conservation Authority (CLOCA) has prepared draft natural hazards regulation mapping for public notification. You are invited to view the draft mapping at this website and by selecting the relevant map links:  www.cloca.com/draft-regulation-area-mapping. You may also reach out to us at mappingupdate@cloca.com if you have any questions regarding the draft mapping.

Mapping of areas that could be unsafe for people and property in the event of a flooding or erosion emergency across the watershed is a mandatory service that CLOCA provides in accordance with provincial regulations.

The Ministry of Natural Resources previously held a consultation on the regulatory changes on the Environmental Registry of Ontario. Details regarding the provincial consultation are available here: https://ero.ontario.ca/notice/019-2927

On April 1, 2024, the province enacted a new regulation under the Conservation Authorities Act for the effective regulation of development for the protection of people and property from natural hazards in Ontario.

The draft mapping shows areas associated within hazardous lands including valleylands, wetlands, watercourses, and other areas that could be subject to flooding and erosion hazards, including the Lake Ontario Shoreline. The mapping is based on provincial regulatory requirements and technical information such as flood and erosion studies prepared by professional engineers and geographic information associated with wetlands, watercourses and topography prepared by other environmental specialists.  Further, the maps show the change in area between the former regulation and the current provincial regulation in effect.

This notification period is in effect between October 9th and November 17th, 2025. The draft mapping will be considered by the CLOCA Board of Directors at their Board meeting scheduled for November 18th, 2025.

You are welcome to contact Chris Jones directly at cjones@cloca.com or our technical staff at mappingupdate@cloca.com regarding this initiative.