RELATED: A new poll shows Premier Doug Ford’s decision to count long-term care beds as homes isn’t sitting well with Ontarians, a majority of whom disagree with the accounting. Global’s Queen’s Park Bureau Chief Colin D’Mello reports – Mar 11, 2024is looking to expand its definition of housing further, with plans to explore how it can start counting student accommodation toward its goal of building 1.5 million homes.
In his letter sent to the City of Mississauga at the end of March, Calandra said his ministry was working out how to track student accommodation in its data for new homes, which already includes long-term care beds and basement units. The decision to consider adding student homes to its housing start data comes as the province works to hit an ambitious self-imposed goal of 1.5 million homes by 2031.
In 2023, Ontario saw 89,297 housing starts, which it boosted to 109,011 by including long-term care beds and other alternative spaces like basement units in the numbers. The government has strongly defended its decision to include long-term care homes as housing starts.“I challenge anyone to talk to these seniors and tell them they have a bed and not a home — they have their own room, they eat in a dining room with everyone else,” Ontario Premier Doug Ford previously said of the move.