Platform · Pillar 1

Housing Affordability and Choice for Every Stage of Life

Centre Wellington's housing crisis is structural. It will not fix itself. A Dunsmore administration will act in the first 90 days.

HousingGrowth PlanningInfrastructureLocal EconomyCommunityAccountability
The Evidence

What the Township's Own Data Says

The 2025 Housing Needs Assessment, commissioned by the Township of Centre Wellington itself, leaves no room for ambiguity. This is not a political argument — it is the township's own hired consultants' findings.

  • 605 households in severe housing need
  • 19% renter share vs. 31% Ontario provincial average
  • Only 3% non-market housing — far below comparable municipalities
  • 79% of all housing is single or semi-detached
  • 273 new units built per year — the township needs 334
  • 720 affordable units needed in the next decade: 380 rental, 340 ownership
  • 235 active short-term rentals removing homes from the long-term market
  • Zero purpose-built rental apartments built this entire council term
The gap
19%
Centre Wellington renter share
vs. 31% Ontario average
61
Units short every year
273 built vs. 334 needed
0
Purpose-built rental apartments built
this entire council term

What's Being Built vs. What's Needed

Being Overbuilt

  • Single-detached homes $800,000+
  • High-end condos at $3,500–$3,600/month
  • Short-term Airbnb and VRBO units

Critically Missing

  • Purpose-built rental apartments
  • Rent-geared-to-income (RGI) units
  • Stacked townhouses and low-rise (3–6 storey) apartments
  • Accessible housing and seniors' independent living
  • Laneway and coach houses (Additional Residential Units)
Commitments

First 90 Days — Seven Specific Actions

Every commitment below is grounded in Ontario legislation currently in force. No new laws are required. The tools exist. What has been missing is the will to use them.

"An STR bylaw will be adopted in the first 90 days of my administration. The draft exists. The public consultations are done. The framework is ready. This is a decision, not a research project."

— Neil Dunsmore

Next: Resident-First Growth Planning →