Don Martin: Trudeau's seeking shelter from the housing storm he helped create
For the fourth day in a row, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took a cabinet contingent of potted palms in tow to backdrop another housing announcement, this time delivered Friday in that bastion of Liberal loathing called Calgary.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau centre tours modular home construction facility before making a housing announcement in Calgary, Alta., Friday, April 5, 2024 (Jeff McIntosh / THE CANADIAN PRESS)
This was a relatively cheap unveiling in the Trudeau multi-billion-dollar scheme of things. A $600-million push for innovation and factory-built housing was added to the $25-billion pre-budget lineup of housing inducements -- with another 10 days of heavy spending to go before the actual budget.
Okay, let’s give Trudeau the benefit of the doubt and say that the prime minister has suddenly experienced a come-to-Jesus moment and divined the right set of ideas to deliver relief to the overpriced, undersupplied Canadian housing sector.
Housing experts are generally supportive of most initiatives announced this week.
Still, the timing is beyond suspect and it deserves a blatantly cynical reception.
He announced these budget measures just as another carbon tax increase was biting at the pumps. And it’s aimed at a housing shortage crisis even Trudeau admits was exacerbated by the excessive influx of asylum seekers, temporary workers and foreign students he authorized.
There shouldn’t be any standing ovations for a prime minister who caused a problem, delayed action until raw politics demanded a diversion and introduced long-overdue programs on a timeline which won’t deliver results until long after he becomes electoral road kill.
And all this housing action comes in the aftermath of Trudeau’s correct observation that housing was mostly a provincial matter.
Couple his housing plans with intrusions into provincial areas like health care, natural resources and education and one wonders if Trudeau is auditioning for the job of premier after he leaves federal office.
I digress. Nobody with a real life cares very much about constitutional boundaries and, given that housing is a national crisis spilling from one province into another, nor should they on this issue.
Besides, some of his better-late-than-never ideas deserve to outlive his death row government.
Boosting densities around transit lines is solid common-sense policy first advocated by Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre.
The federal inducement to quadruple housing per residential lot maximizes land use more efficiently, if only it can overcome city councils unnerved by the NIMBY syndrome which dominates single-family subdivision thinking.
Trudeau's damage control
The topped-up housing accelerator is having some impact but, as the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC) reported this week, construction is actually de-accelerating and will dip below the 2021 new housing count for the next two years.
Federal help to expand sewers, watermains and bridges is a welcome initiative because politicians don’t consider it a sexy funding priority, even though it’s vital to have that infrastructure in place before the first subdivision foundation is poured.
And what about those new apartment units Trudeau aims to build? Well, given the original loan program failed to produce pedal-to-metal construction, only delivering a fifth of the target, another $15-billion to the cause seems doomed to deliver only disappointment.
Keeping in mind this push to detonate an explosion in housing construction plays out in a fully-employed building sector. It’s tricky to sprawl out hundreds of thousands of new dwellings when there’s a shortage of skilled trades to build them.
This week was a textbook example of creative damage control by Trudeau, a rush of budget leaks from a politician more concerned about saving his own skin over giving Canadians access to an affordable roof.
But if the polls hold in their current trajectory, Justin Trudeau will be in the rear-view mirror of Canadian political history long before any of these policies deliver tangible relief.
So if they actually work to ease the housing crisis, the next prime minister will get the credit.
That’s the bottom line.
IN DEPTH
Budget 2024 prioritizes housing while taxing highest earners, deficit projected at $39.8B
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
'Democracy requires constant vigilance' Trudeau testifies at inquiry into foreign election interference in Canada
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau testified Wednesday before the national public inquiry into foreign interference in Canada's electoral processes, following a day of testimony from top cabinet ministers about allegations of meddling in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections. Recap all the prime minister had to say.
As Poilievre sides with Smith on trans restrictions, former Conservative candidate says he's 'playing with fire'
Siding with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith on her proposed restrictions on transgender youth, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre confirmed Wednesday that he is against trans and non-binary minors using puberty blockers.
Supports for passengers, farmers, artists: 7 bills from MPs and Senators to watch in 2024
When parliamentarians return to Ottawa in a few weeks to kick off the 2024 sitting, there are a few bills from MPs and senators that will be worth keeping an eye on, from a 'gutted' proposal to offer a carbon tax break to farmers, to an initiative aimed at improving Canada's DNA data bank.
Opinion
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
opinion Don Martin: The doctor Trudeau dumped has a prescription for better health care
Political columnist Don Martin sat down with former federal health minister Jane Philpott, who's on a crusade to help fix Canada's broken health care system, and who declined to take any shots at the prime minister who dumped her from caucus.
opinion Don Martin: Trudeau's seeking shelter from the housing storm he helped create
While Justin Trudeau's recent housing announcements are generally drawing praise from experts, political columnist Don Martin argues there shouldn’t be any standing ovations for a prime minister who helped caused the problem in the first place.
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Slovakian prime minister in life-threatening condition after being shot, his Facebook profile says
Slovakia's populist Prime Minister Robert Fico is in life-threatening condition after being wounded in a shooting after a political event Wednesday afternoon, according to his Facebook profile.
B.C. mom whose son died from wildfire smoke trying to make this year safer
As wildfires rage in British Columbia, the family of a nine-year-old who died last summer is trying to protect people from poor air quality due to smoke this year.
'Not a scarient': New COVID-19 subvariant dominant in Canada
A new COVID-19 subvariant is dominant in Canada, representing just over 30 per cent of cases in the country, but infectious disease experts say there’s no sign it’ll evolve into a summer 'scarient.'
DEVELOPING Massive manhunt in France for prison-break gang that gunned down officers
A massive manhunt was underway in France on Wednesday for armed assailants who ambushed a prison convoy, killing two prison officers, seriously injuring three others and springing the inmate they were escorting. The prime minister vowed the gang would be caught, saying, "They will pay."
Home sales in April up 10% compared with year ago, but monthly sales slow
The Canadian Real Estate Association says the number of home sales in April rose 10.1 per cent compared with a year ago, but attributed the gain primarily to the early Easter long weekend.
Ottawa to acquire Quebec Bridge from CN, will spend $1 billion on span over 25 years
The federal government says it has reached a deal with Canadian National Railway Company to acquire the historic Quebec Bridge.
Utah judge to decide if author of children's book on grief will face trial in her husband's death
A Utah woman who authorities say fatally poisoned her husband, then published a children’s book about coping with grief, will appear in court Wednesday for a hearing that will determine whether state prosecutors have enough evidence against her to proceed with a trial.
Growing wildfires across Western Canada are forcing thousands from their homes
Thousands of people in Western Canada remain displaced from their homes as wildfires threaten their communities, triggering evacuation orders and alerts.
Sun shoots out biggest solar flare in almost 2 decades, but Earth should be out of the way this time
The sun produced its biggest flare in nearly two decades Tuesday, just days after severe solar storms pummelled Earth and created dazzling northern lights in unaccustomed places.
Local Spotlight
B.C. musician's song catches attention of Canucks
When Adam Kirschner wrote 'Slap Shot,' he never imagined the song would be embraced by his favourite team.
'We're on standby': Team ready to help entangled right whale in Gulf of St. Lawrence
A team is ready to help an entangled North Atlantic right whale in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
Thieves caught on camera stealing pet chicken from North Vancouver backyard
A $200 reward is being offered by a North Vancouver family for the safe return of their beloved chicken, Snowflake.
Adopted daughter in the Netherlands reunited with sister in Montreal and mother in Colombia, 40 years later
Two daughters and a mother were reunited online 40 years later thanks to a DNA kit and a Zoom connection despite living on three separate continents and speaking different languages.
'Reimagining Mother's Day': Toronto woman creates Motherless Day event after losing mom
Mother's Day can be a difficult occasion for those who have lost or are estranged from their mom.
Chris Hadfield inspires youth musical in Sudbury
YES Theatre Young Company opened its acclaimed kids’ show, One Small Step, at Sudbury Theatre Centre on Saturday.
Ottawa pizzeria places among top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world at international competition
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
From outer space? Sask. farmers baffled after discovering strange wreckage in field
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
Wilfrid Laurier football player drafted despite only playing 27 games in his entire life
A Listowel, Ont. man, drafted by the Hamilton Tigercats last week, is also getting looks from the NFL, despite only playing 27 games of football in his life.