OnePoint Launches Campaign Calling on Municipal Candidates to Champion Homeownership and Housing Affordability
ONTARIO, October 9, 2026 — With Ontario’s October 26 municipal election less than a month away, the OnePoint Association of REALTORS® (“OnePoint”) is launching a new regional campaign calling on municipal candidates to commit to policy change that will increase housing supply, improve affordability and help keep the dream of homeownership within reach.
The Building Homes, Strengthening Communities campaign is engaging REALTORS®, voters and municipal candidates across the OnePoint region around the important role municipal governments play in determining how, where and how quickly new housing gets built.
“Housing is on the ballot in communities across our region this October,” said Jennifer Morley, President of the OnePoint Association of REALTORS®. “Municipal councils make decisions every day that directly affect the cost and supply of housing. We want candidates to tell voters how they will keep homeownership affordable for the next generation.”
Housing affordability remains a significant challenge across communities represented by OnePoint. In August 2026, average residential sale prices ranged from approximately $444,000 in Owen Sound and $536,000 in Midland to $779,000 in Guelph and $879,000 in Centre Wellington. Across many communities, home prices remain many times higher than annual median household incomes, creating a substantial affordability gap for first-time buyers and young families.
OnePoint’s campaign is built around its policy report released earlier this year called Building Homes, Strengthening Communities, which advances policy solutions aimed at increasing housing supply, reducing the cost of building new homes and making homeownership more attainable.
“Whether you live in a larger urban centre, a small town or a rural community, local government decisions have a big impact on your ability to afford a home,” said Morley. “We need councils that are prepared to say yes to more housing, reduce unnecessary costs and give people more choices about where and how they live.”
OnePoint is calling on all candidates to commit to lowering development charges and speeding up housing approvals; modernizing local zoning to enable more missing-middle housing, including townhomes and multiplexes; and opposing new municipal land transfer taxes that would add to the upfront cost of buying a home.
Recent public opinion research commissioned by OnePoint demonstrates strong concern about the issue. A May 2026 Nanos survey of residents in Owen Sound, Kincardine and Collingwood found 84 per cent were worried about the next generation’s ability to afford a home.
OnePoint is encouraging voters to ask where they stand on development charges, approval timelines, missing-middle housing and municipal land transfer taxes, and what specific actions they would take to increase housing supply and improve affordability in their municipality.
“REALTORS® see the housing affordability challenge firsthand in communities across our region,” said Morley. “This election is an opportunity for candidates to demonstrate that they will champion the dream of homeownership and support practical solutions that make it easier to build the homes our communities need.”
Media Contact: Jessica Olmstead
Manager of Public Relations & Communications
OnePoint Association of REALTORS® (519) 824-7270 X330
