HAMILTON, ON – A City of Hamilton delegation joined municipalities from across Ontario and provincial representatives earlier this week at the annual Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) conference held in Ottawa from August 18-21, 2024. The AMO conference provided a crucial platform for City officials to engage with provincial leaders, discuss local matters, and advocate for the investments and changes needed to advance Hamilton’s key priorities.
The City strongly advocated for solutions to the complex challenges of housing affordability, homelessness, and community health, emphasizing the need for a comprehensive and integrated approach.
“Housing is a key priority for Hamilton, and we continue to work hard to address gaps across the housing continuum,” said Mayor Andrea Horwath. “We want to ensure that people of all ages and income levels can afford to live in Hamilton and thrive. It will take a true provincial-municipal partnership to make progress, and I look forward to continuing to work collaboratively with the province to advance our shared goals. My priority will always be ensuring every member of our community has a safe, affordable, and secure place to call home.”
Mayor Horwath was joined by City Councillors Craig Cassar, Tammy Hwang, Cameron Kroetsch and Nrinder Nann, as well as City Manager Marnie Cluckie and other senior-level staff. Over the course of the conference, the City of Hamilton held 12 delegations with Ontario government ministries, including vital meetings with the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Infrastructure, the Ministry of Health, and the Ministry of Education, among others. The City also had the opportunity to engage with Ontario Liberal Party leader Bonnie Crombie and Ontario NDP leader Marit Stiles to discuss a variety of issues impacting Hamilton.
As part of the conference’s plenary program, Councillor Tammy Hwang was re-elected to the Board of Directors of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario, Regional & Single Tier Caucus.
The City’s advocacy efforts at the conference aligned with Ontario’s Big City Mayors’ Solve the Crisis campaign, which calls on all levels of government to address the broader humanitarian housing crisis in Ontario.
To ensure Hamilton can continue to meet provincial housing targets and is well-equipped to accommodate future growth, the City advocated for continued partnership from other levels of government in the following areas:
- Direct housing-focused investment to support shovel-ready projects;
- Transit growth and development;
- Funding for housing-enabling infrastructure; and
- Social investment to support vulnerable populations and strengthen social supports.
Another crucial topic of discussion was the need for the province to review the current municipal fiscal framework. Aligning with the advocacy efforts of major municipal associations, the City reiterated its call for the province to provide municipalities with the necessary tools to fund critical infrastructure and services without imposing a financial burden on our communities.
The City of Hamilton thanks AMO for organizing a successful conference and the province for offering the opportunity to present the City’s most urgent advocacy priorities.
“City staff, with the support of Council, will take every opportunity to highlight key municipal priorities on the provincial and national stages. The meetings at AMO provided us with a valuable opportunity to advocate for the resources and changes needed to tackle the challenges we face in Hamilton,” said City Manager Marnie Cluckie. “We are committed to continuing these crucial conversations to achieve our goals and deliver on the needs of our community. Continued support from the provincial level is essential for sustainable, resilient, and community-enabling infrastructure to ensure the City can meet both current and future needs as Hamilton grows.”
Quick Facts
- The province has set a target for Hamilton to deliver 47,000 new housing units by 2031. In 2023, the City of Hamilton issued permits for 4,263 new housing units and broke ground on a total of 4,142 new housing units.
- The City established the Housing Secretariat through the adoption of the Council approved Housing Sustainability and Investment Roadmap in April 2023, focused on a “whole of Hamilton” approach to identify and facilitate housing solutions that result in safe, affordable rental and ownership housing for lower-income residents.
- These efforts align with the 2022-2026 Council Priority of Safe and Thriving Neighbourhoods; of which increasing the supply of affordable and supportive housing and reducing chronic homelessness are key outcomes.
- Through the Association of Municipalities of Ontario’s advocacy efforts and public policy initiatives, Ontario’s 444 municipalities work together to achieve shared goals and meet common challenges.
- This year’s conference provided participants the opportunity to learn, network and share ideas that can benefit communities. It also facilitated hundreds of delegation meetings between municipal governments and provincial ministries, where delegates had an opportunity to pose questions to provincial cabinet ministers. The conference featured more than 60 speakers, sessions and workshops, reflecting the broad scope of municipal responsibilities.