$1 Billion for Municipal Infrastructure—but Who Will Build It?

Ontario’s new infrastructure funding creates a housing opportunity—and a workforce-delivery challenge.

Canada and Ontario have announced a combined $1 billion investment to help Ontario municipalities that do not levy development charges build and renew the infrastructure needed to support housing and community growth.

Through the new Non-Development Charge Municipalities Stream, eligible municipalities will be able to seek funding for critical infrastructure such as roads, bridges, water systems and other municipal assets. Applications are scheduled to open on October 29, 2026.

The investment is significant. But infrastructure funding, on its own, does not build infrastructure.

Every approved road, bridge, water system and wastewater project must still be designed, staffed, supplied, constructed and maintained. That requires engineers, project managers, equipment operators, skilled tradespeople, apprentices, contractors, suppliers and community partners.

For many of the small, rural, northern and remote municipalities expected to benefit from this program, securing the funding may be only the first challenge.

The next question is more practical:

What the $1 billion investment supports

The new stream forms part of the broader Canada–Ontario Partnership to Build.

Ontario is contributing $500 million through its Municipal Housing Infrastructure Program, while the federal government is contributing a matching $500 million through the Provincial and Territorial Stream of the Build Communities Strong Fund, subject to the required bilateral agreement.

The funding is intended for eligible Ontario municipalities that do not collect development charges. Without that source of municipal revenue, communities can face difficulty financing the infrastructure required to accommodate growth, unlock housing development and replace aging assets.

Eligible projects are expected to include infrastructure such as:

• Drinking-water systems

• Wastewater and stormwater systems

• Roads

• Bridges

• Culverts

• Infrastructure renewal

• Projects that enable new housing

• Projects that help protect the existing housing supply

The direct applicants will be eligible municipalities—not individual employers, contractors, developers, workforce organizations or residents.

However, the effects of the investment will extend far beyond municipal offices.

As projects are approved and procurement begins, the funding will create downstream requirements for engineering, construction, skilled trades, equipment, materials, transportation, workforce accommodation and local support services.

That is where infrastructure policy becomes workforce reality.

Funding approval is not the same as delivery capacity

It is tempting to treat a major infrastructure announcement as the solution. In practice, funding is only one part of the delivery equation.

A municipality may have an approved project and still encounter:

• Difficulty recruiting specialized workers

• Insufficient local skilled-trades capacity

• Limited apprenticeship participation

• Competition for workers from larger projects or urban markets

• Shortages of temporary and long-term accommodation

• Transportation barriers between housing and worksites

• Delayed worker arrivals

• Contractor and subcontractor capacity constraints

• High turnover during project delivery

• Weak coordination between employers, training providers and community partners

These pressures are not secondary concerns. They can affect schedules, procurement outcomes, construction costs, workforce safety and the municipality’s ability to turn approved funding into completed infrastructure.

The challenge may be especially pronounced in communities where the local labour pool is small, housing inventory is limited and incoming workers must travel or relocate to participate in a project.

A technically sound infrastructure plan can still stall if the workforce plan begins too late.

Workforce planning must begin before construction

Municipalities and project partners should not wait until a contract has been awarded—or until a contractor reports a labour shortage—to determine where workers will come from.

Workforce planning should begin alongside project planning and procurement.

That means examining:

• The occupations and trades required during each project phase

• The number of workers required and when they will be needed

• Which positions can be filled locally

• Where recruitment gaps are likely to emerge

• Whether apprenticeship or training pathways can be incorporated

• What workforce funding and employment supports may be available

• Whether workers will need temporary accommodation or permanent relocation

• How workers will travel between their housing and worksites

• What retention risks could disrupt delivery

• How local residents and underrepresented groups can access project opportunities

This is not simply a recruitment exercise.

It is a coordinated workforce-development process connecting infrastructure demand with employers, workers, training institutions, employment-service providers, housing partners and community organizations.

The opportunity for local workers and apprentices

Infrastructure investment can do more than fill immediate vacancies. Properly structured, it can create durable career pathways.

Municipalities and contractors should consider how funded projects can support:

• Apprenticeship opportunities

• Pre-employment and job-readiness training

• Work-integrated learning

• Training-to-employment pathways

• Upskilling and reskilling

• Participation by youth and career changers

• Opportunities for newcomers and internationally trained workers

• Indigenous workforce participation and partnerships

• Access for women and other underrepresented groups in the trades

• Local supplier and contractor development

These outcomes will not happen automatically because money has been allocated to infrastructure.

They require deliberate planning, clear employer commitments and coordination with organizations capable of connecting people to training, employment and practical supports.

Otherwise, communities may complete individual projects without strengthening the local workforce needed for future growth and infrastructure maintenance.

Housing is both the goal and a workforce constraint

The purpose of this investment is to help communities unlock and protect housing through supporting infrastructure. But housing may also become one of the most immediate constraints on project delivery.

This is the uncomfortable circular problem:

In tight or remote housing markets, incoming workers may compete for an already limited supply of rental and temporary accommodation. Poorly planned project mobilization can create:

• Accommodation shortages

• Escalating project-housing costs

• Long and unreliable commutes

• Worker fatigue

• Delayed arrivals

• Early departures

• Pressure on existing residents and local rental markets

Workforce accommodation therefore cannot be treated as a last-minute travel arrangement.

Municipalities and contractors should identify housing capacity, transportation options and mobilization risks before major recruitment begins. Where local labour cannot meet project demand, workforce mobility and accommodation planning become part of the project’s operating infrastructure.

What municipalities and contractors should assess now

Before applications open and long before construction begins, prospective applicants and project partners should examine five areas.

1. Workforce demand

Identify the occupations, trades, certifications and staffing levels required across design, construction, commissioning and maintenance.

2. Local labour capacity

Determine which requirements can be filled locally and where employers are likely to face shortages.

3. Training and apprenticeship pathways

Engage training providers, unions, colleges, employment-service organizations and apprenticeship partners early enough to prepare participants for actual project opportunities.

4. Housing and transportation barriers

Assess temporary accommodation, longer-term housing, commuting distances, local transportation and the effect of worker mobilization on the existing community.

5. Recruitment and retention risk

Plan not only how workers will be attracted, but how they will be supported and retained through the project lifecycle.

These assessments should inform procurement documents, contractor expectations, workforce partnerships and project schedules.

CNAP’s role: connecting infrastructure investment to workforce delivery

CNAP supports municipalities, employers, contractors and project partners in preparing the workforce required to move infrastructure projects from funding to completion.

Our integrated approach is organized around five connected requirements:

Recruit

Identify workforce demand, recruitment gaps, talent sources and pathways into available occupations.

Fund

Identify relevant workforce, employment, training and apprenticeship supports that may complement project investment.

Train

Connect employers and workers with training, upskilling, apprenticeship and job-readiness pathways aligned with actual project needs.

House

Identify housing, transportation, relocation and other practical barriers that may prevent workers from accepting or remaining in employment.

Retain

Support workforce stabilization, employee retention and coordination beyond the initial hire or arrival.

This approach recognizes a basic reality: a vacancy is rarely an isolated problem.

Recruitment may fail because training is unavailable. Training may not lead to employment because transportation is inaccessible. A worker may accept a position but leave because housing cannot be secured. An employer may fill a role but lose the employee because settlement, mobility or retention risks were never addressed.

Infrastructure delivery requires these issues to be considered together.

Build the workforce while building the infrastructure

The new Non-Development Charge Municipalities Stream can help Ontario communities address infrastructure backlogs, enable housing development and prepare for growth.

Its long-term value, however, will depend on more than the number of projects approved.

Success should also be measured by whether communities:

• Develop stronger local talent pipelines

• Expand access to skilled-trades careers

• Create meaningful apprenticeship opportunities

• Improve workforce participation

• Strengthen local contractors and suppliers

• Prepare for workforce housing and mobility pressures

• Retain the people required to support future growth

The funding creates the opportunity.

Municipalities, contractors and workforce partners must now build the delivery capacity around it.

Request Workforce Support

Is your municipality, organization or project team preparing for infrastructure growth, construction demand or workforce expansion?

CNAP can help assess:

• Workforce and occupational requirements

• Recruitment and retention risks

• Training and apprenticeship pathways

• Workforce-funding opportunities

• Housing and transportation barriers

• Regional workforce-mobility requirements

• Employer and community partnership needs

Request Workforce Support

CNAP does not administer the Non-Development Charge Municipalities Stream and does not guarantee government funding, project approval, worker availability or procurement outcomes. Program applicants should review the official eligibility requirements and application guidance when released.

Official program information

• Government of Canada: $1-billion Non-Development Charge Municipalities announcement

• Ontario Municipal Housing Infrastructure Program