ROWENA SANTOS
Board of Directors
Federation of Canadian Municipalities
Councillor Rowena Santos is currently a Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) Board member, representing over 2,000 municipalities across the country. She is Chair of the FCM Municipal Finance, Infrastructure, and Transportation Committee and Vice chair of the FCM Anti-Racism, Equity and Inclusion Committee.
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Federal Support for Food Banks
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Click HereEnhancing Shelter Supports for Women and Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence
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Click HereHarassment of Elected Municipal Officials
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Click HereAmid an affordability crisis and the cost of living, Canadians are struggling.
As we confront major challenges related to housing, homelessness, infrastructure, and public safety, Canada’s municipalities are on the frontlines—seeking solutions.
In this publication, released at our annual Advocacy Days event, the FCM outlines key recommendations to the federal government so, as a country, we can improve Canadians’ lives.
These include targeted measures to support recommendations to better tackle Canadians’ priorities:
Housing Affordability
44% of Canadians say housing affordability is their biggest worry.
Canada is in the grip of a housing and affordability crisis. Stagnant wages, rising costs, and inflation are resulting in more people being unable to afford a home. Local governments are working hard to facilitate increased housing construction, but while increasing the supply of new homes is a crucial part of the solution, this won’t solve the crisis on its own.
We need a coordinated effort to deliver a Municipal Growth Framework that will ensure the long-term, predictable infrastructure funding for current and new housing. Additionally, we must increase the supply of non-profit housing, including co-op and non-profit rental housing for middle-income households and deeply affordable social housing for low-income Canadians.
To support housing affordability for Canadians, the FCM recommends the federal government:
- Aim to increase the share of non-profit housing stock. This will ensure that there is more housing that is affordable in perpetuity.
- Prioritize the use of federal public lands for supportive, transitional, and non-profit housing. Public lands should be used for public good. As such, they should be used to create long-term solutions to address homelessness as well as ensure an increased, permanent supply of affordable housing in our cities and our rural and northern communities.
Homelessness
There has been a 20% rise in Canadians experiencing homelessness in the last ten years. Recent projections have indicated that half a million people could be homeless by 2030.
The federal government must urgently support the work of municipalities in tackling homelessness, which is closely linked to housing affordability. Homelessness is now an everyday reality in Canada’s big and mid-sized cities, as well as many rural communities. The federal government must respond to the scale of the issue and significantly increase funding while making it permanent and predictable.
To help our most vulnerable experiencing homelessness, the FCM recommends the federal government:
- Close the $3.5 billion annual shortfall identified by the Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) in federal spending to tackle homelessness. Despite recent increases in Budget 2024 to address homelessness and encampments, the federal government is underspending: delaying long-term, lasting solutions.
- Make the Reaching Home program permanent and increase its funding, until such time as homelessness becomes brief and non-recurring. The Reaching Home program is a proven, federal initiative that provides continuous funding for wraparound support for vulnerable populations, enabling access to emergency shelters when needed.
Infrastructure
Quality of roads and traffic congestion rank in the top 3 ‘Quality of Life’ concerns expressed by Canadians, while water main breaks impacted millions in major cities last summer*.
Canada is in dire need of a new generation of infrastructure, with nearly 14 percent of municipal transportation infrastructure in poor or very poor condition. The backlog for transportation and water infrastructure repair and replacement in Canada is now at over $224 billion. Without urgent investment, our water, wastewater, and stormwater infrastructure will be increasingly unable to support businesses or the construction of the new homes Canada needs.
To ensure Canadians can rely on community infrastructure, the FCM recommends the federal government:
- Reform the Canada Housing Infrastructure Fund (CHIF). In its current form, CHIF does not fully meet Canadians’ needs. Municipalities should be enabled to renew existing infrastructure, with a commitment of $3 billion over the next three years delivered through CHIF or a new, dedicated water and wastewater infrastructure fund. This would address rural and urban needs, renewing municipal infrastructure and supporting growth-related projects for rapid home construction and economic development in rural regions.
- Immediately top-up the Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund (DMAF).Allocate an additional $2 billion, with $1 billion annually for the next decade. Implement a revised DFAA program in 2025 to support recovery efforts and reduce future exposure to climate risks.
- Invest in rural and northern infrastructure. Commit at least $250 million annually for 10 years in new funding to support core rural and northern infrastructure. This investment reflects the vital economic activity in these regions and addresses higher construction costs, labour shortages, and supply chain challenges.
Public Safety
Over a quarter of Canadians have said crime in their communities is a top concern*.
One of the most vital responsibilities of all orders of government in Canada is ensuring public safety. For many communities, policing is their biggest expense. Between 2010-2021, the cost of policing in municipalities increased by 24% in Canada’s 20 most populous municipalities. Moreover, local police are increasingly called on to respond to complex situations involving mental health crises or drug overdoses, requiring specialized interventions.
To ensure safer communities for all Canadians, the FCM recommends the federal government:
- Work with all levels of government to expand investments in community-based mental health and substance use care. This ensures people in crisis receive the right kind of support when they need it, while reducing pressure on police services to manage these complex situations.
- Strengthen efforts to ensure optimal RCMP staffing and service levels in communities. Address high vacancy rates, officer burnout, and staffing gaps that hinder the delivery of essential policing services across Canada, including in rural and northern communities.
- Commit to meaningful consultations with municipalities on decisions affecting the future of RCMP contract policing.
Rural and Northern Communities
Home to 17.8% of Canada’s population, rural municipalities manage over 30% of the country’s municipal infrastructure—much of which is aging.
Sustainable growth and stability across rural and northern communities are increasingly challenged by climate disasters and unique community needs. Ensuring these communities receive the support they need is a priority for the FCM.
These specific needs will be the subject of a detailed advocacy paper entitled ‘The Future of Rural and Northern Canada’, which is scheduled for release in 2025.
A Municipal Growth Framework
Our municipalities are striving to deliver on these needs despite a 19th-century revenue framework that was never designed for the realities of the 21st century. Amid record population growth, the need for predictable, adequate municipal funding has only grown more urgent.
We’re reaching breaking point.
It’s time for a Municipal Growth Framework.
The FCM is advocating for better use of existing tax dollars, so municipalities can support Canadians with the infrastructure and services they need and deserve.
We need the funding to take action now on the most critical, immediate issues.
Only by modernizing municipal funding via a new framework can we make meaningful progress in tackling these issues in the long run.
This would reduce reliance on funding from federal, provincial, and territorial governments. It would help provide municipalities with long-term financial sustainability and more consistent, ongoing support for Canadians.
Crucially, we are urging all orders of government to come together and develop a Municipal Growth Framework: a new, more equitable way to fund local governments and support more effective municipal action on the key issues that matter for Canadians.
