Ottawa: The Hon. Pierre Poilievre, Leader of Canada’s Common Sense Conservatives, has issued the following statement demanding that the upcoming renewal of the Canada Community Building Fund (CCBF) must be tied to home building. Last year, the CCBF, through agreements between each province and the federal government, sent $2.4 billion to provinces for infrastructure projects. Over the last decade, the CCBF has given over $26 billion of federal funding to provinces. These agreements expire on March 31, 2024 for all provinces and territories, and on March 1 for Quebec:
“Common Sense Conservatives are calling on Trudeau to tie the money to home building through a simple formula when the government signs new agreements with provinces. It must not be tied to radical anti-road and anti-car rules. The same basic formula must also apply to any other infrastructure funding.
“There’s no time to lose. After eight years of Justin Trudeau, Canadians are living in a housing hell. Rent and mortgage costs have doubled since 2015. Vacancy rates have fallen to a 35-year low, hiking up average asking rents to a record high of $2,196 in January.
Worse still, over the past two years, asking rents have increased by a total of 23 percent.
“Justin Trudeau has failed to build the homes Canadians need and instead funds local gatekeepers who block home building. Trudeau’s own Canadian Housing and Mortgage Corporation has said that Canada needs 3.5 million more homes than is currently projected to be built by the end of the decade to restore housing affordability, while CIBC says that this number is actually much closer to 5 million.
“For example, in Winnipeg, the NIMBY municipal government deliberately delayed the approval process for a massive new housing project. When one planner flat out refused to do so, they were replaced by a gatekeeper who would. How did the Liberals respond? Trudeau and Fraser cut the local gatekeepers a cheque for $122 million as part of their so-called Housing Accelerator Fund for doing a ‘good job’ of building more homes.
“Infrastructure funding like the CCBF must be tied to home building. Instead, his radical Environment Minister has gone in the complete opposite direction and has now decreed that federal tax dollars won’t be used for road building.
“Trudeau has no issue imposing conditions on cities to make it harder for Canadians to drive, but he won’t make cities build the homes Canadians desperately need. Common Sense Conservatives will build homes and roads, and simplify federal funding by making home building the primary goal.
“The CCBF infrastructure agreements that soon expire must be renewed based on a simple formula – build more homes, get more
money. Build fewer homes, get less money. Our common sense plan for infrastructure agreements:
1. Make building homes the primary focus of these agreements.
2. Link the number of CCBF dollars (and other infrastructure programs) for each municipality to the number of homes they get built through a common sense mathematical formula.
3. For every percent that they exceed a target of 15% more homes being built, they will receive 1% more infrastructure dollars. And for every percent they fall short, they will lose 1% of funding.
4. Small municipalities will be exempt from penalties but eligible for bonuses if they exceed the 15% target.
5. Not include radical anti-car and anti-road policies that would hurt Canadians.
“Infrastructure funding agreements between the Federal government and cities and Provinces are being negotiated now. The government already includes conditions in these agreements and it’s vital home-building targets are the main goal. That’s just common sense.”
“Canada is in a full-blown housing crisis – and the main cause is low supply. That’s why the federal government needs to consider as many policy carrots and sticks as possible to boost supply quickly – and the Conservative plan is the most aggressive on the market.” – Aaron Wudrick, Director, Domestic Policy Program at Macdonald Laurier Institute
“Canada is in a housing crisis. Pierre Poilievre’s plan is simple and effective – he will pay for results. This is exactly the common sense thinking that the Ontario Real Estate Association has called for and aspiring homeowners desperately need. Don’t pay for promises, pay for results that get people a place to call home.” – Tim Hudak, CEO, OREA
“The rapid increase in the cost of housing is the result of a slower growth in supply than in demand. Municipal policies that increase the cost of new-build housing – such as Montreal’s 20-20-20 bylaw – or prevent new housing from being built are standing in the way of affordability. Removing red tape and bureaucracy will help us increase home building.” – Renaud Brossard, Vice President of Communications at the Montreal Economic Institute.
