Toronto to get $80M for affordable housing in Bedford Park from federal government

The federal government is spending over $80 million to build 159 new rental homes in Toronto's Bedford Park neighbourhood.

Housing Minister Gregor Robertson announced the funding at a news conference Monday, saying the financing comes from the government's Apartment Construction Loan Program (ACLP), which aims to support construction of more than 131,000 rental homes across Canada by 2031-32. 

"Our goal will double the rate of home building in Canada with an industry that prioritizes Canadian technology, Canadian skilled workers, and Canadian lumber," Robertson said.

The minister added that the cost of construction and of land in cities like Toronto, paired with no incentives to build rental housing, had "flatlined" the market.

Funding under ACLP focuses on building affordable housing units for lower-income families under the National Housing Strategy, which is a more than decade-long project to build new homes across the country, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) said in a news release Monday. 

The incentives offered by the ACLP program are expected to boost building of affordable homes, Robertson said. 

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The 159 new homes will be in a nine-storey building expected to be built by fall 2027, CMHC said in the news release. 

'The kind of housing Toronto needs': developer

Just over a quarter of the new units, roughly 43, will be built for people who fall below Toronto's median household income. According to CMHC, that was $85,000 after taxes in 2021.

The building is close to public transit and a "vibrant" community with bakeries, shops and restaurants, CMHC said.

Loans through ACLP are low-interest and no longer include minimum requirements relating to energy efficiency, the CMHC release said. 

Such programs are "essential" because they allow builders to include affordable rental units in an economically feasible manner, said Scott Cryer, chief financial officer of Medallion, the real estate and development corporation that will build the rentals. Cryer is also the rental operator for the new building. 

"This is the kind of housing Toronto needs right now, high quality, mixed-income rental housing, and we plan to build more of it in Toronto," Cryer said. 

'More opportunity … to find homes'

Medallion says it has built over 5,300 units in Ontario over the past two decades. 

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The financing from the federal government will provide affordable housing for decades and simultaneously create more jobs for people, Vince Gasparro, MP for Eglinton—Lawrence, said at the Monday news conference.  

"The increase in housing supply means more opportunity for my constituents to find homes that meet their needs," Gasparro said. 

The federal government has spent around $23 billion through the ACLP to support more than 59,000 rental units as of March 2025. It's expecting to spend $55 billion total by the end of 2032, CMHC said in the news release.