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
Hackers release corporate data stolen from London Drugs
Retailer London Drugs says cybercriminals who stole files from its corporate head office last month have released some of the data after it refused to pay a ransom.
Toronto man falls off his chair after seeing $70M Lotto Max win in his bank account
A Toronto man who won $70 million in a recent Lotto Max draw literally fell off his chair when he saw the funds in his bank account.
Montreal-area high school students protest 'sexist' dress code
Approximately 50 Montreal-area students — the vast majority of them female — were suspended Wednesday after their school deemed the shorts they were wearing were too short. On Thursday, several students staged a walk-out to protest what they believe is a "sexist" dress code that unfairly targets girls.
'Looking over our shoulders': A killing looms large in a little B.C. town
Something shifted in the pretty little village of Lumby, B.C., after Tatjana Stefanski vanished. It used to be the sort of place where parents let their kids roam free or play in the local creek, but everything has changed.
'I won't stop,' Celine Dion says in trailer for upcoming doc about her health woes
Celine Dion's fans are getting a first glimpse of the superstar's struggle with a rare neurological disorder in an emotional trailer for an upcoming documentary about her career and life.
Tim Meadows pledges not to shave until the Oilers win the cup, who are the team's other famous fans?
An unlikely celebrity emerged from social media to cheer on the Edmonton Oilers as they face the Dallas Stars tonight in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals.
American Airlines retreats after blaming a 9-year-old for not seeing a hidden camera in a lavatory
American Airlines has distanced itself from a court filing in which the carrier said a nine-year-old girl should have noticed there was a camera taped to the seat of an airplane lavatory.
Luxury beauty brand Clarins to pull out of Hudson's Bay stores in Canada
French luxury makeup and skincare brand Clarins is pulling out of Hudson's Bay stores in Canada.
'It's over': Minister says B.C.'s decision on Surrey police transition upheld in court
The B.C. Supreme Court has ruled in the provincial government's favour on the City of Surrey's legal challenge to its ongoing transition to a municipal police force, according to B.C. Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General Mike Farnworth.
Local Spotlight
'Near and dear to all filmmakers': Return of Regina's discount theatre bodes well for fans, movie makers alike
The proprietors of Regina's sole discount theatre are aware they're carrying on a significant legacy.
'Best experience ever': B.C. baker on making it to the finals of Netflix's 'Is it Cake?'
When Jujhar Mann said he wanted to be a pastry chef on a grade school career project, he didn't imagine that pursuing his dream would land him on a popular Netflix baking competition.
Winnipeg flair on the menu at neighbourhood Houston restaurant
A city known for its history, ties to outer space and southern barbecue, is also home to a Winnipeg chef dishing out dozens of perogies.
Montreal photographer captures dramatic Canada goose vs. fox fight on video
A Montreal photographer captured the moment a Canada goose defended itself from a fox at the Botanical Garden.
Beyond books: Halifax libraries lends instruments, sports equipment, memory kits and more
Public libraries in Atlantic Canada are now lending a broader range of items.
'A special bird': The unbreakable bond between purple martins and humans
Flashes of purple darting across the sky mixed with the serenading sound of songs will be noticed more with spring in full force in Manitoba.
7-year-old Pokémon prodigy heading to Hawaii for world championship tournament
Catching 'em all with impressive speed, a 7-year-old boy from Windsor, Ont. who only started his competitive Pokémon journey seven months ago has already levelled up to compete at a world championship level.
VIDEO Born without front legs, this dog has been inspiring the world for 3 years: Dresden farm owner
A sanctuary dedicated to animals with disabilities is celebrating the third birthday of one of its most popular residents.
From DVDs to rehearsals: Halifax theatre company transforms Video Difference building into arts hub
2b Theatre recently moved into the old Video Difference building, seeking to transform it into an artistic hub, meeting space, and temporary housing unit for visiting performers in Halifax.