Less than three years after Premier Doug Ford made building 1.5 million new homes a centerpiece of his 2022 re-election campaign, his government was privately acknowledging the goal would never be reached, according to internal documents obtained by Global News.
The revelation comes from hundreds of pages of handwritten notes from the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, drafted between October and December 2024 as officials worked on legislation that was ultimately shelved when the province called an early election.
One page of notes discussing communications strategy states bluntly: "1.5 million homes not reach target, more context." Another section warns staff to be cautious about future commitments, reading: "No promise to build more homes faster — careful how (we) promise."
The housing promise was a central plank of the Progressive Conservative government's 2022 election platform. The theory was straightforward: flood the market with new supply to help solve Ontario's housing affordability crisis. The province set an ambitious timeline, pledging to complete 1.5 million new housing units by 2031.
Despite what officials described as a strong initial start, housing starts soon fell away and the target began slipping out of reach. The government even changed and expanded its definition of what qualified as a new home — including long-term care beds, student dormitories, and retirement homes in the count — but the numbers still didn't add up.
By fall 2024, just a quarter of the way through the decade-long timeframe, internal notes suggest the ministry was admitting defeat. Yet publicly, the government has never acknowledged the goal is unattainable.
Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy has characterized the 1.5 million figure as a "soft target," while Housing Minister Rob Flack has carefully avoided repeating the specific goal when questioned by reporters.
"This legislation continues to build on the work we have done previously to create the conditions (for) homebuilders to do what they do best and that is to build," Flack told reporters in October 2025, speaking to Global News.
When pressed on whether new measures would help the province reach its 1.5 million home goal, Flack remained noncommittal. "I'm committed to getting shovels in the ground faster," he said, speaking to Global News. "I'm looking at the next six to 12 months to get this thing kick started. The future will be the future. We're in a housing crisis. We get it."
The government has also apparently abandoned its custom housing tracker, providing no timeline for when it will release updated numbers on homes built under its modified definition of new housing.
Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles seized on the internal documents as proof of broken promises. "This is just more broken promises from Doug Ford. Doug Ford wrote a cheque he couldn't cash because his government is ideologically opposed to building housing," she said in a statement.
"When did the Conservatives decide that this target didn't matter? How long did they lie to the people of Ontario about being on track to build 1.5 million homes?" Stiles continued. "Ontario has fallen to last place when it comes to building homes. This is just proof that Doug Ford has given up on fixing the housing crisis."
When asked about the housing goal earlier this week, Premier Doug Ford pivoted to discussing economic conditions in the United States rather than addressing the target directly.
"Let's see how we go because already in one year it's increased over 300 per cent," Ford said at a news conference on Tuesday. "Yes, we've seen some uncertain times with President Trump's tariffs but I feel when I was down in South Carolina and over in Washington, heading over to Utah, the ground is shifting right now down there … in uncertain times, yeah, it was tough last year. It's still tough out there, but in saying that I think we'll increase the numbers."
The Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing declined to answer questions from Global News about the internal documents or the housing target. A spokesperson said only that "the premier's comments from yesterday stand."
The gap between private acknowledgment and public messaging raises questions about transparency as our province grapples with an ongoing housing affordability crisis that affects families across every community.
