Government Relations Updates
May 2025
Government Relations Updates
Cornerstone’s Government Relations staff updates this month include:
- An RFP for Listing Agent Services in the Waterloo Region,
- Details and engagement opportunities for rental licensing rules in Burlington and Waterloo,
- An overview of Ontario’s proposed Building Faster and Smarter Act,
- An update on Norfolk County’s Master Recreation Plan,
- A deadline extension for Hamilton’s Vacant Unit Tax declaration,
- And plenty more!
Why is Cornerstone’s government relations and advocacy so important to you as a member? The very first article in the national REALTOR® Code requires members to be informed of essential facts which could affect local market conditions. This includes being aware of current legislation, and pending legislation (including zoning, government programs, etc.), which could affect trading conditions in the marketplace. Our goal is to make it easy for you to stay up to date and compliant!
Your feedback is always appreciated. Please contact us at: [email protected]
Federal News
Federal Cabinet Announced
On May 13th, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced a new cabinet featuring 28 ministers and 10 secretaries of state.
Congratulations to the following Minister and Secretary of State, respectively, in the Cornerstone market area:
- Rechie Valdez, Minister of Women and Gender Equality, and Secretary of State (Small Business and Tourism)
- Adam van Koeverden, Secretary of State (Sport)
Cornerstone also congratulates Gregor Robertson, the newly appointed Minister of Housing and Infrastructure.
Bank of Canada Announcement
The next Bank of Canada rate announcement will occur on June 4th.
Provincial News
Protect Ontario: Building Faster and Smarter Act, 2025
Minister Flack, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, recently announced the proposed Protect Ontario by Building Faster and Smarter Act, 2025. The Act acknowledges that the Government of Ontario recognizes the excessive time and cost associated with building homes in the province. The suite of tools, including deferring development charges until occupancy and eliminating development charges for long-term care homes, presents a bold solution to reduce the cost of new development and accelerate construction timelines. It was also encouraging to see Carolyn Parrish, Mayor of Mississauga, at the announcement and to hear her support for the proposed legislation.
Cornerstone recently sent a letter to the Mayor of Hamilton and Council, along with stakeholders from the West End Home Builders’ Association, the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce, and the Hamilton Halton Construction Association, urging the city to defer development charge payments and to streamline development applications to spur new construction. We are pleased to see both of these items in the proposed Building Faster and Smarter Act.
OREA: Building More, Building Faster
The Ontario Real Estate Association (OREA) recently released a report titled “Building More, Building Faster,” in response to the Government of Ontario’s commitment to build 1.5 million homes by the end of 2031.
The report features policy recommendations to encourage investment and cut red tape to promote factory-built housing construction. The report defines factory-built homes as mobile homes and prefabricated “prefab” housing, which includes panelized homes, kit homes, and modular homes.
In February, Premier Ford committed to investing $50 million into prefabricated homes and innovative building technologies, and in March, the Government of Canada released a new Housing Design Catalogue, featuring 50 free, low-rise home designs to encourage and scale factory-built home construction.
City of Burlington
Burlington Mayor’s Speaker Series: Tackling the Housing Crisis in Uncertain Times
On May 26th, Burlington Mayor Marianne Meed Ward and Councillor Stolte, Deputy Mayor of Housing, will host a panel discussion on how cities can remain focused on addressing the housing crisis despite increasing economic uncertainty. Expert panelists include David Ionico, Chair of the West End Home Builders’ Association, and Jim Dunn, Association Dean of Research, Faculty of Social Sciences at McMaster University and Director of the Canadian Housing Evidence Collaborative.
Hosted at the Burlington Performing Arts Centre, the event will feature a tradeshow from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. before the speaker series begins at 7 p.m. Cornerstone is the exclusive sponsor of this event.
Short-Term Accommodation License Applications Now Open
The City of Burlington’s Short-Term Accommodation By-law came into effect on May 1st. Short-term accommodation operators are defined as anyone who owns a property and rents it out for up to 28 consecutive days (for a total of 183 days per year) for a fee, as on platforms such as Airbnb and VRBO.
In addition to obtaining a license, operators must also submit certificates showing that HVAC and electrical systems meet requirements and will be required to sign a declaration to comply with maintenance, parking plans, Building Code and Fire Code.
Affordable Rental Community Improvement Plan
The City of Burlington recently adopted the Burlington Affordable Rental Housing Community Improvement Plan (CIP), which features 10 financial incentive programs including grants, forgivable loans, municipal fee waivers, and development charges assistance. The plan is a great way to spur much-needed rental housing for the city
Burlington & Hamilton
2025 Bay Area Economic Summit
The Bay Area Economic Summit, jointly hosted by the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce, Burlington Chamber of Commerce, and the Economic Development departments of both Hamilton and Burlington, returns to the Pearle Hotel & Spa in Burlington on June 5th.
This year’s theme is Catalyst for Growth: Housing, Sustainability & Supply Chain.
Cornerstone is sponsoring this year’s renowned keynote speaker, Dr. Mike Moffatt, Founding Director at the Missing Middle Initiative, Professor and Economist. Burlington Mayor Meed Ward and Hamilton Mayor Horwath are also on the speaker roster to provide updates from their respective cities.
Be sure to get your tickets early and join us for a morning filled with expert discussions, actionable strategies, and valuable networking.
City of Hamilton
Vacant Unit Tax Declaration: Deadline Extension to May 30th
At the last City of Hamilton Council meeting, an extension was approved to submit a late occupancy status declaration until May 30th, without penalties.
There were still 11,500 undeclared units as of last week.
Every property owner in the City of Hamilton must complete a declaration, regardless of whether they live on the property or not. Failure to declare will result in the Vacant Unit Tax being added to the final property tax bill in June 2025.
Please take this opportunity to remind your family, friends, colleagues and clients who own property in Hamilton to complete their declaration.
Downtown Revitalization Strategy
The City of Hamilton is embarking on a 10-Year Downtown Revitalization Strategy. Do you have feedback to share? There are several in-person community pop-ups taking place in May, and online engagement is open until June 1st
City of Kitchener
Growing Together East
The City of Kitchener has approved a plan to build 35,000 new homes through its new Growing Together East policy. The policy, which emphasizes growth around transit, was designed to move the city closer to its housing goals. The plan includes bringing as many as 1,700 affordable housing units online through a new inclusionary zoning bylaw requiring large-scale developments to include affordable housing units.
Norfolk County
Master Recreation Plan Update
On March 11th, Drew Hemsley, Cornerstone’s Chair-Elect, presented to Norfolk County’s Council-in-Committee regarding the potential funding mechanisms outlined in the County’s Draft Master Recreation Plan. The report lists various means to fund the bold initiatives, including taxes, development charges, and potential new taxes, including a 2% tax on all new homes and a recreation tax on top of the standard land transfer tax. Drew urged Council to consider alternative options such as grants, partnerships and fundraising and to phase in the plan in alignment with current budgetary resources to not place additional burdens on residents or further make homeownership less attainable. Watch Drew’s deputation here.
Following Drew’s presentation, Ike Keesmaat, President of the Haldimand-Norfolk Home Builders’ Association, also delivered remarks to Council to support our efforts.
With an extended timeline for Council to review the plan, Cornerstone arranged an exclusive meeting on April 10th with Norfolk County staff to meet with our REALTOR® members and Home Builders in Norfolk County to hear feedback directly from its stakeholders.
On May 13th, Council-in-Committee is set to review the plan and feedback before going to Council on May 27th.
Cornerstone submitted the following correspondence to Council-in-Committee for their consideration.
City of Mississauga
First 100 Days of the Mayor’s Housing Report
The City of Mississauga recently marked 100 days of progress with the Mayor’s Housing Task Force report which was released on January 22nd. The city expects 11,600 residential applications over the next few months, whereas only 2,557 came forward in 2024.
City of Waterloo
State of the City & 5,000 Resident Community Announcement
On May 1st, Mayor Dorothy McCabe delivered the 2025 State of the City on behalf of the Waterloo City Council. Mayor McCabe acknowledged the businesses that have invested in Waterloo and contributed to the city’s success and growth.
Another theme in Mayor McCabe’s remarks was growth and development, which includes the 1,800 new homes that are part of a new community located near University Avenue and Woolwich Street. The 34-acre greenfield property will feature commercial and residential development, presenting a mix of affordable and attainable housing options for everyone, from first-time buyers to growing families and seniors. Construction is set to occur over the next 10 years.
Rental Apartment Buildings Bylaw
The City of Waterloo seeks feedback to shape its rental licensing regulations. The licensing will apply to both long and short-term rentals.
Two Residential Housing Development ApprovalS
On May 5th, City of Waterloo Council approved a zoning change application and an official plan for a subdivision that will create between 195 to 342 residential units. The new development at Roy Schmidt Road and Conservation Drive will include single detached, semi-detached, townhouse, and other mixed-use dwellings.
On May 12th, the City also approved applications for a new six-storey mixed-use building at the corner of Albert Street and Hemlock Street. The development will include 140 units, providing 200 bedrooms of varying sizes, along with commercial space, amenity areas, and vehicle and bicycle parking spots.
The approvals align with the City’s Housing Pledge commitment to plan for 16,000 new residential units by 2031.
View Previous updates:
- Government Relations Updates – July 2025
- Government Relations Updates – June 2025
- Government Relations Updates – May 2025
- Government Relations Updates – April 2025
- Government Relations Updates – March 2025
- Government Relations Updates – February 2025
- Government Relations Updates – January 2025
- Government Relations Updates – December 2024
