Montreal, October 1, 2025 – The leader of Ensemble Montréal and candidate for mayor of the city, Soraya Martinez Ferrada, announced Wednesday a new financing strategy to respond to the housing crisis.
This approach relies on a solid partnership between the City of Montreal, the private sector, and non-profit organizations, using municipal land capacity and property value as a lever for development.
An affordability fund: aiming for self-financing
Ensemble Montréal announces the creation of an Affordability Fund, financed by the development of municipal land and contributions from partnerships. The funds raised will directly support the construction or acquisition of off-market housing, maintaining our goal of 20% affordable and social housing.
True, transparent, and ongoing accountability will be easily accessible to track the progress of our efforts.
Other cities have implemented similar mechanisms: the City of Vancouver with the Vancouver Affordable Housing Endowment Fund, and the City of Longueuil with incentive zoning and financial contributions.
Leveraging the strength of partnership
Rather than relying solely on government subsidies, Ensemble Montréal wants to implement an innovative model whereby the City contributes its land and buildings, in partnership with private developers and non-profit organizations, to build social and affordable housing more quickly.
Concrete incentives to reduce costs
To stimulate construction, an administration led by Ensemble Montréal will implement clear and effective financial incentives, including:
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Property tax credits for affordable and social housing projects;
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Establishment of a gateway for off-market housing through a specialized team that will offer personalized support and simplify administrative procedures;
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Use of 70-year emphyteutic leases on land owned by the City to reduce the cost of building off-market housing;
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Exemption of off-market housing projects from municipal fees, including permit and public domain occupancy fees;
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Acceleration of the development of City land and buildings for off-market housing;
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Adoption of appropriate densification measures (incentive zoning), lowering construction costs and increasing the supply of housing more quickly.
A commitment from the start of the term
Within the first 100 days, Soraya Martinez Ferrada will bring together the main players—non-profits, private developers, financial institutions—to launch a joint plan and accelerate the delivery of concrete projects.
Finally, an administration led by Ensemble Montréal wishes to revise certain criteria of the Metropolitan Social Housing Fund to facilitate the achievement of the 20% off-market target resulting from the adoption of the new
Metropolitan land use and development plan for Greater Montreal, in collaboration with the cities of the Montreal Metropolitan Community.
Quotes:
“We can’t wait any longer. The City of Montreal has immense land potential, and we are going to turn it into a driver of development by working hand in hand with our community and private partners. Montreal must equip itself with modern tools and a proactive administration to respond to the crisis. By using our land value as leverage and increasing partnerships, we will deliver concrete results for families, young people, and all Montrealers.” – Soraya Martinez Ferrada, candidate for mayor of the metropolis and leader of Ensemble Montréal.
“Ensemble Montréal will make full use of the housing powers granted by the Quebec government, including incentive zoning, to accelerate housing starts and the number of off-market housing units, in addition to leveraging innovative financing models.” – Sylvain Gariépy, candidate for mayor of Villeray-Saint-Michel-Parc-