Ontario Announces $5.77M in Water Infrastructure Funding for Gananoque Today

Gananoque – The province announced today the funding of $5,771,984 to enable the construction of more than 400 new homes in the Town of Gananoque.

Leeds-Grenville-Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes MPP Steve Clark was joined by Minister of Infrastructure Kinga Surma and Gananoque Mayor John Beddows to announce the funding, delivered through the first round of investments under the Housing-Enabling Water Systems Fund.

Today’s announcement will support upgrades to the Gananoque East End Pumping Station and will enable the construction of 416 housing units in the town, the government said in a press release.

The government says the fund is providing $970 million to help municipalities develop, repair, rehabilitate, and expand drinking water, wastewater and stormwater infrastructure.

“I’m proud of the significant investments our government is making to help municipalities with the infrastructure upgrades they need to put shovels in the ground and get housing built faster,” said MPP Clark. “Housing is a priority for the people we represent, and I commend Mayor Beddows and the Town of Gananoque for their work on this project. I remain committed to bringing additional investment from our government to help grow the housing supply in our local communities.”

“By investing in drinking water and wastewater treatment facilities and connecting pipes to land, we are helping municipalities build more homes,” said Kinga Surma, Minister of Infrastructure. “Homes can’t be built without connections to drinking water and wastewater.”

“This investment by the government of Ontario is concrete proof of Queen’s Park’s commitment to support housing construction across the province and in municipalities of every size. We are
grateful for the assistance in sustaining and expanding the critical infrastructure necessary to grow Gananoque into the future,” said Mayor Beddows. “Government support for projects of this nature is clear evidence of a strategic approach aimed at delivering long-term and enduring benefits for the residents of Ontario generally and, in this case, for the residents of the Town of Gananoque specifically.”

The government said it is also allocating an additional $250 million and accepting a second round of applications through the Housing-Enabling Water Systems Fund, bringing the province’s total investment in the fund to $1.2 billion.

In response to the significant demand for investments in water and wastewater infrastructure to enable the construction of more homes, and after consulting with municipalities, the province is
transferring $275 million from the Municipal Housing Infrastructure Program to the Housing-Enabling Water Systems Fund to meet this demand, stated the province.

In addition, the $120 million from the Building Faster Fund that was reserved for small, rural and northern communities is being flowed to these communities through the Housing-Enabling Water Systems Fund.