Ontario Investing $135 Million to Protect Water Systems and Irrigation Infrastructure in Leamington and Niagara
Funding will support new homes, food production and keep workers on the job in the face of tariffs and economic uncertainty
The Ontario government is investing $135 million in water systems and irrigation infrastructure in Niagara Region and the Municipality of Leamington to help build more homes, protect farmland and keep workers on the job.
“In the face of U.S. tariffs and economic uncertainty, our government is investing in the future for the people of Ontario by doubling down on our plan to build,” said Kinga Surma, Minister of Infrastructure.
“With our additional investments in the Municipal Housing Infrastructure Program, we are unlocking more housing and building critical infrastructure that will protect communities, support the farming sector and keep workers on the job.”
Niagara Region will receive approximately $94 million, which includes approximately $53 million for six water systems projects to help unlock up to 14,000 new homes through the Municipal Housing Infrastructure Program’s (MHIP) Housing-Enabling Water Systems Fund (HEWSF) stream, and another $41 million for irrigation pipelines to help deliver water to hundreds of farms and agricultural businesses.
Leamington will receive $41 million to help protect thousands of acres of greenhouse operations with improved wastewater treatment services, supporting domestic food production.
“This investment is a clear example of our government’s plan to protect Ontario’s economy by supporting the people and sectors that drive it,” said Trevor Jones, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness.
“By funding critical infrastructure like the Niagara irrigation and Leamington wastewater projects, we’re strengthening local economies, safeguarding food security, and making sure Ontario farmers have the tools they need to grow, compete, and succeed, now and for the future.”
Leamington is home to one the largest greenhouse hubs in North America and Niagara Region is where the majority of Ontario’s tender fruit and grape crops are grown.
The water systems projects in Niagara Region are part of the province’s $400 million in previously announced MHIP funding. This round of funding will support 50 new water infrastructure projects in 55 municipalities to help build up to 86,000 new homes across the province, bringing the total number of homes enabled through the MHIP to approximately 800,000.
“Reliable infrastructure is essential to ensuring safe and strong rural communities across Ontario,” said Lisa Thompson, Minister of Rural Affairs.
“With this investment, our government is ensuring communities in the Niagara Region and Leamington, as well as many other rural communities across the province, will have the funds necessary to build and maintain the infrastructure they need to increase local housing supply and rural economic development, while protecting jobs across Ontario.”
Additional projects that have been approved for funding will be announced in the coming weeks. In total, the province has invested $2.3 billion in the Municipal Housing Infrastructure Program to date.
Investing in local infrastructure is part of the province’s more than $200 billion capital plan to build and improve transit, highways, hospitals, schools and other critical public infrastructure, while strengthening the economy for the future.
The two agriculture projects in Niagara Region and Leamington will help improve crop yield, quality, and drought resilience by ensuring a consistent water supply that will particularly benefit high-value fruit and vegetable crops like peaches for Niagara, as well as enhance water quality in Leamington through the collection of nutrient-heavy wastewater from the greenhouse operations.
The MHIP is currently comprised of four funding streams: the Housing-Enabling Water Systems Fund (HEWSF), the Housing-Enabling Core Servicing (HECS) Stream, the Health and Safety Water Stream (HSWS) and the Agriculture and Irrigation Stream. HEWSF was recently consolidated as a funding stream under the MHIP to improve the delivery of the province’s infrastructure funding programs.
Too bad the money isn’t being used for the existing failing infrastructure for the homes that exist!….and how much of this money will get filtered to the waterfront project while the hard working taxpayers pay for clean up of sewage in their homes?