Housing is a top priority for Mississauga. Growing Mississauga: An Action Plan for New Housing will help us get more homes built, streamline building approvals and make homes more affordable.
The plan outlines five goals and 23 actions the City will take over the next four years and identifies where we need private sector and government support.
Growing Mississauga builds on the success of the City’s previous housing plans which have positioned Mississauga to meet the Province’s 2051 growth target, helped improve housing affordability, streamlined approval processes and led to the issuance of a record number of building permits in 2022.
Goals and actions
Find out how the City will work to deliver more housing. Review the full plan for detailed information about each goal and related actions.
The Province’s new home target for Mississauga is 120,000 units over 10 years. The City has long been planning for intensive growth and can accommodate this amount of development as long as the necessary infrastructure (transit, parks, sewers, water and public spaces) is in place to support it. The development community will also need to commit to fund and build the housing the City approves.
Growing Mississauga outlines five actions to get more homes built, which include:
- Allowing more housing types, such as semi-detached homes, triplexes and garden suites to be built without special zoning permissions
- Encouraging more transit-friendly development
- Creating opportunities for new residential housing in employment areas
Increasing the supply of housing requires a commitment from the Province and its agencies to fund and accelerate the construction of large transit projects such as the Hurontario LRT Downtown Loop and two-way, all-day service on the Milton GO transit line.
When launched in 2017, Mississauga’s Making Room for the Middle: Affordable Housing Strategy was one of the first of its kind in Canada. Today, 90% of the strategy’s actions are complete or underway, but there is more work to do.
Growing Mississauga outlines four actions to improve housing affordability, which include:
- Implementing new policies to bring affordable housing units to major transit station areas
- Working with the Province to protect and expand rental housing
Mississauga uses many tools to get housing built more quickly and was the first city in Canada to offer an online approvals system for building permits and development applications.
Growing Mississauga outlines five actions that will continue the City’s commitment to streamlining processes and improving customer service, which include:
- Launching a permit approval team to expedite approvals
- Piloting new approvals processes to meet Bill 109 timelines
- Upgrading our online applications portal
Increasing development will require considerable new funding for major infrastructure to support growth. The City will play a big role in realizing this plan but will need support from our partners to prepare for rapid expansion.
Growing Mississauga outlines four actions to help make the plan happen, which include:
- Exploring funding options
- Integrating housing and the delivery of new infrastructure
- Acquiring land for much needed parks and open space
As we grow Mississauga, we are committed to working with the community and all stakeholders to build complete communities. The City will also continue to explore and adopt new and innovate ways to engage, inform and report on Mississauga’s growth and development.
Growing Mississauga outlines five actions to support the City’s work to educate, engage and report on housing, which include:
- Establishing a housing panel
- Expanding online planning tools
- Increasing online self-serve housing data
Municipal housing target
The Province of Ontario has set a goal of delivering 1.5 million homes over the next decade. To meet this, municipal housing targets have been issued to cities across Ontario.
Mississauga’s housing target is 120,000 new units. This means Mississauga will need about the same number of new homes in 10 years that we were planning to deliver over 30 years. That’s like adding the population of Guelph or Waterloo to our city in 10 years.
Accommodating this level of growth will require government and industry support. We can only make it happen if:
- Infrastructure and services like parks, roads, transit, sewers, community centres, fire stations and libraries are in place to service new residents; and
- The development and building industry has the desire and capacity to build the new homes.
As a city, we can plan and approve housing, but the development and building industry gets them built. Across Mississauga there is zoning in place for almost 80,000 new units, but almost half those units aren’t being actively developed. Once approvals are in place, we need a commitment from the development community to fund and build housing.
Housing pledge
Municipalities have been asked to submit a housing pledge to the Province to confirm they will meet their target. On March 1, 2023, Mississauga City Council endorsed Growing Mississauga as the City’s housing pledge.
News and updates
Watch as Mayor Bonnie Crombie and Members of Council unveil Mississauga’s plan for new housing, including actions the City will take to help the province meet their target of building 1.5 million new homes in the next 10 years.
- Read the City’s news release: Mississauga Approves Action Plan for New Housing
- Download the one page infographic for an overview of key facts
Housing panel
The City will establish a housing panel to help implement our action plan. This panel will include representation from Council, the construction and development industry, not-for-profit groups and the academic community.
Planning for the housing panel is currently underway. More details will be shared later this spring.