York Region advancing progress on housing supply and homelessness response

September 24, 2026

Newmarket – Since its establishment by York Regional Council in April 2025, the Housing and Homelessness Committee has provided oversight and strategic direction on initiatives to increase housing supply, strengthen community partnerships and enhance supports for residents at risk of or experiencing homelessness.

The committee is strengthening governance and coordination across York Region’s housing and homelessness system by guiding development of the 2026 to 2035 10-Year Housing and Homelessness Plan, overseeing implementation of the 2024 to 2027 Homelessness Service System Plan, increasing non-market housing supply and advocating for additional senior government investments.

“Results of this work includes the advancement of the largest supply of planned community housing projects in the Region’s history,” said York Region Chairman and CEO Eric Jolliffe. “Our progress reinforces our commitment to increasing affordable housing supply and enhancing services to help residents access the help they need, when they need it.”

Committee decisions enabled several significant initiatives to be implemented in 2025. These include:

  • Accelerating Region-led housing projects through innovative construction approaches, flexible procurement and early pre-development work to advance project timelines, including the opening of Mosaic House in Whitchurch-Stouffville in 2025, adding 97 new subsidized and market rental homes, and advancing the development of The Queensway South in the Town of Georgina, which will add approximately 90 units upon completion
  • Making the Community Housing Supply Grant permanent and supporting an additional one-time investment of approximately $30 million in 2025, enabling over 500 new rental homes now in pre-development and construction
  • Launching the Housing Affordability Resource Program to strengthen non-profit housing development capacity, helping organizations advance affordable housing projects from concept to construction
  • Endorsing advocacy positions in support of the 10-Year Housing and Homelessness Plan and engaging government partners to secure a predictable, shared funding model to increase housing supply; this positions the Region to respond quickly to funding opportunities and secure investments to accelerate delivery of affordable housing supply
  • Endorsing the Site Selection Framework for Regional Housing Development, which provides a quantitative approach to evaluating and prioritizing housing development sites to ensure alignment with policy, Regional infrastructure and resident needs

“Our committee is providing focused leadership, accountability and transparency on one of the most important challenges facing our communities,” said Town of Newmarket Mayor John Taylor, Chair of the Region’s Housing and Homelessness Committee. “Through collaboration with local municipalities, community partners and all levels of government, we are making meaningful progress, but there is much more to be done to continue enhancing services and building a stronger, more responsive system for residents.”

In 2025, the committee supported thousands of residents through housing stability, homelessness prevention, outreach and encampment response, emergency and community housing and health supports, such as:

  • Supporting more than 1,000 community housing residents to maintain successful tenancies
  • Providing York Region-funded homelessness prevention programs to more than 2,400 people
  • Delivering rent benefits to more than 7,500 people
  • Connecting more than 2,000 people experiencing homelessness with emergency and transitional housing
  • Providing primary care, mental health and addiction services to approximately 600 people through the Community Paramedicine and Outreach Team Program
  • Supporting more than 650 people experiencing homelessness, including individuals living unsheltered, through Outreach Services

For more information, visit york.ca/Housing

The Regional Municipality of York consists of nine local cities and towns and provides a variety of programs and services to more than 1.3 million residents and over 58,000 businesses with 624,000 employees. More information about the Region’s key service areas is available at york.ca/RegionalServices

-30-

Media Contact:

Tamara Ostrowski, Corporate Communications
The Regional Municipality of York
Phone: 1-877-464-9675, ext. 71226 Cell: 905-251-6412
Email: @email