Two alternatives to the Canadian housing problem: which one to choose?
In Canada the housing issue and affordability problem are becoming more and more acute. Here are the options political opponents propose in order to solve it.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has launched a CAD 4 billion initiative that will provide funding to local governments in order to accelerate the building of 100,000 new houses across Canada.
This measure was announced in 2022 as a part of the federal budget. The deadline is years 2026 – 2027.
Over the next decade, the Canadian government intends to double the number of houses being built to make it more affordable. The Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF) application portal will start functioning this June.
The leader of the Conservative Party, Pierre Poilievre, who is running for Prime Minister of Canada, has consistently criticized Justin Trudeau. He regularly brings into discussion election interference, inflation and he also blames Trudeau for the unsuccessful housing policy.
Before Trudeau, Poilievre says, the average monthly mortgage payment was CAD 1,400. Under Trudeau, that amount has more than doubled. Today, the average Canadian takes CAD 3,200 out of his pocket every month to pay a mortgage. Vancouver and Toronto are ranked 3rd and 10th world's most unaffordable cities.
"Young and new Canadians are finding it impossible to even save for a down payment, with all their hard-earned money going into rent and paying for skyrocketing groceries thanks to Justin Trudeau’s inflationary spending and taxes," the Conservative politician says on Twitter.
Poilievre offers his own solution. Here are some ideas:
- Require unaffordable big cities like Vancouver to increase homebuilding by 15 percent annually or face big financial penalties and have portions of their federal funding withheld;
- Require cities seeking federal funds pre-approve building permits for high-density housing;
- Sell off 15 percent of the federal government’s 37,000 buildings. "We will require these buildings to be turned into affordable housing."
- Stop printing money. "We will require every dollar of new spending to be matched by a dollar of savings. This will end the inflationary bubbles the Bank of Canada created, fueling a crisis in the housing market."
The next election for the Prime Minister of Canada will be held in 2025.
