The City of Hamilton is Canada’s worst municipality for planning application processing times, according to the latest semi-annual benchmarking study published by the Canadian Home Builders’ Association.
With Hamilton’s above-average development charges, Hamilton City Council makes building new homes more difficult than only one other city in Canada: Toronto.
Getting a planning application approved in Hamilton takes an average of 31 months.
This is nearly triple the average of 11.2 months across comparator municipalities and six months worse than the second-worst municipality, Toronto.
Since 2022, the average approval time in Hamilton has increased by 8.1 months, the highest increase in Canada.
Mayor Andrea Horwath says the report highlights the need for already underway reforms.
“Certainly, we have been very aware that there needs to be some changes internally to how we deal with development approvals,” Mayor Horwath stated. “We have two pilot projects about to be launched, that aim exactly at that target.”
Horwath says new processes will ensure it is clear who is responsible for processing applications and that there is accountability for achieving improvements.
Halifax and Hamilton Were Equals in 2022. Halifax Cut Approve Times in Half, Hamilton’s Increased 50 Percent
In the 2022 study, Hamilton and Halifax were nearly tied for approval delays, with the average approval timeline in Halifax being 20.8 months and the average time in Hamilton being 22.9 months.
Since 2022, Halifax has more than halved its approval timeline to an average of 9.8 months, while Hamilton’s has increased by over 40 percent.
Among the 23 municipalities in the study, more than half improved their approval timelines during the past two years. Only four became less effective at approving new housing, with Hamilton being the worst by this measure.
Comparative Development Charge Fees
Hamilton charges an average of $88,200 in development and planning fees to build one low-rise housing unit. This is near the Canadian average of $82,600.
Ontario municipalities charge higher development charges for high-rise development, especially compared to the rest of Canada.
The average municipal fee for one high-rise housing unit in Hamilton is $59,600, well above the Canadian average of $35,000.
Halifax has dropped its fees for high-rise development to $4,400 per unit as that municipality looks to address housing shortages and become more tax-efficient.
Halifax also permits tall buildings in more neighbourhoods than comparable municipalities.
Hamilton’s Chief Planner Says City Has Improved, and Data Does Not Fully Capture Timelines
Hamilton’s Acting General Manager of Planning and Economic Development, Steve Robichaud, says the City has implemented process improvements and is processing new applications within the 60, 90, and 120-day requirements implemented by Bill 109.
“In response to Bill 109, the City comprehensively re-engineered all of our planning processes in order to meet those provincial targets,” Robichaud said. “The City had been successful in ensuring that site plans are approved … within sixty days on site plans and that zoning applications are dealt with within ninety days. An official plan amendment and zoning applications are dealt with in 120 days.”
He said the CHBA study does not account for why an application could take longer to process, such as the developer delays in responding to requests for further information and applications within environmentally sensitive areas.
Robichaud said the City is continuing to “look at how we can modify, adjust, or improve our processes in response to what we’re hearing from not only applicants but also the broader community and other key stakeholders. “
Lower Than Average Population Growth
Between 2021 and 2023, Canada’s population increased by 4.0 percent, and the growth was concentrated in cities.
Hamilton is one of only two cities in the benchmarking study with below-average population growth.
Hamilton Did Not Provide Requested Data
The City of Hamilton did not provide the data requested for the benchmarking study.
The study used publicly available data to calculate Hamilton’s planning timelines. The study does not include Hamilton’s site plan approval processing times.
The cities included in the benchmarking study are St. John’s, Charlottetown, Halifax, Moncton, Ottawa, Pickering, Markham, Bradford West Gwillimbury, Toronto, Brampton, Oakville, Hamilton, London, Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Regina, Edmonton, Calgary, Kelowna, Kamloops, Surrey, Burnaby, and Vancouver.
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Published: March 20, 2025
Last updated: March 20, 2025
Author: Joey Coleman
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