Federal gov't now doing more than 'fair share' on housing, minister says
Government House Leader Steven MacKinnon says the federal government is now doing “more than our fair share” when it comes to addressing the housing crisis in Canada.
In an interview with CTV Question Period host Vassy Kapelos airing Sunday, MacKinnon called housing “an urgent national priority.”
“That’s why you’ve seen over the last couple of weeks, ministers and the prime minister go out around the country, work with cities, provinces, community groups, and others in terms of addressing this priority on a segment by segment basis,” MacKinnon said.
Since March 27, the federal government has unveiled measures that will be included in the April 16 federal budget, with many of them targeted towards boosting housing supply.
Some of those measures include a $400 million top-up to the Housing Accelerator Fund, a new $6 billion Canada Housing Infrastructure Fund and a $15 billion top-up of the Apartment Construction Loan Program.
But some premiers have already pushed back against the latest housing announcements because much of the money comes with conditions and benchmarks that the provinces must meet.
“This is a significant overreach by the federal government to come in and attempt to nationalize housing,” said Jason Nixon, Alberta’s Minister of Seniors, Community and Social Services.
In order to access funds from the new Canada Housing Infrastructure Fund, provinces must require municipalities to allow development of four-unit residential dwellings, commonly known as four plexes. In some cases, those buildings could be up to four-storeys tall without amending construction bylaws.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford has spoken out strongly against four plexes recently, and on Wednesday urged all levels of government to stay within their own jurisdictions.
“I'm going to leave that up to each municipality to decide because they know better than the province and the federal government,” Ford told reporters in Vaughan, ON.
Back in August, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau even said housing falls mostly under provincial jurisdiction.
"I'll be blunt as well — housing isn't a primary federal responsibility. It's not something that we have direct carriage of," Trudeau said.
When asked by Kapelos whether the federal government’s recent housing announcements are in response to falling public opinion polling for the Liberals, MacKinnon pushed back.
“What the prime minister also said is that the federal government will be there with the tools, the programs, the resources to do its part. I would argue that we're actually now doing more than our fair share in terms of bearing the weight of this problem,” MacKinnon said.
According to Statistics Canada, housing starts have declined since 2021, and a new outlook from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) released Thursday says that trend is expected to continue this year before recovering in 2025 and 2026. That same report also forecasts home prices could match peak levels seen in early 2022 by next year and even surpass those prices by 2026.
The federal government has acknowledged its latest housing measures will take years to impact housing supply and affordability. When asked by Kapelos whether any shorter-term levers around immigration are possible to help alleviate demand, MacKinnon said no changes will be made to Canada’s permanent immigration targets.
“In terms of our regular immigration program, no we are going to continue with that because it's what demographers and others say is required in the long-term interests of paying the pensions, and the health care and the things that Canadians value,” MacKinnon said.
The Liberals have set targets aiming to bring in 485,000 immigrants this year, and 500,000 in both 2025 and 2026.
The federal government faced criticism earlier this year, after The Canadian Press — citing internal documents obtained through an access to information request — reported in January the federal government was warned by public servants two years ago that its ambitious immigration targets could jeopardize housing affordability.
Two weeks later, Immigration Minister Marc Miller announced plans to reduce the number of international student permits by about 35 per cent from 2023 levels. Then, in late March, Miller announced Canada would put a “soft cap” on the number of temporary resident arrivals, with targets to be set in September.
Mackinnon was also asked how the federal government plans to pay for these latest housing initiatives, while also facing a $40 billion deficit in the 2023-24 fiscal year. He would not say whether Canadians can expect new taxes, such as a wealth tax, to help generate revenue.
“I'm going to let the finance minister talk about her own budget,” MacKinnon said.
With files from CTV News’ Spencer Van Dyk and CTV News’ Mike Le Couteur
Watch the full interview with Government House Leader Steven MacKinnon at the top of this article
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
Prince William and Kate release photo of daughter Charlotte to mark ninth birthday
Prince William and his wife Kate released a picture of their daughter Charlotte to mark the princess's ninth birthday on Thursday.
Ontario man loses $1,500 applying for Nexus cards on social media
The trusted traveller program between Canada and the United States is extremely popular and almost two million Canadians have a Nexus card.
NEW Facial reconstruction reveals what a 40-something Neanderthal woman may have looked like
Scientists studying a Neanderthal woman's remains have painstakingly pieced together her skull from 200 bone fragments to understand what she may have looked like.
Campus protests: Israeli academics say their universities are 'best chance' for peace
One of the demands of pro-Palestinian activists who have set up protest encampments on university campuses in Canada and the United States is a severing of ties with Israeli universities.
Concerns about Plexiglas prompt inspections at some Loblaws locations in Ottawa
Inspections are underway at more than one Loblaws location in Ottawa after complaints were filed about tall Plexiglas barriers.
Weight-loss drug Wegovy available in Canada starting May 6
The makers of Ozempic say their weight-loss drug Wegovy will be available to patients in Canada starting Monday.
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Goring
Archeologists have unearthed the skeletons of five people, missing their hands and feet, at a former Nazi military base in Poland.
This Canadian restaurant just lowered its prices. Here's how it did it
A Canadian restaurant lowered its prices this week, and though news of price tags dropping rather than climbing sounds unusual, the business strategy in this case is not, according to experts in the field.
NEW Companies letting customers opt out of Mother's Day ads
In an effort to balance the profitability of Mother's Day with the pain it causes some people, some brands are offering customers the choice to opt out of Mother's Day email advertising.
Local Spotlight
Here's how one of Sask.'s largest power plants was knocked out for 73 days, and what it took to fix it
A group of SaskPower workers recently received special recognition at the legislature – for their efforts in repairing one of Saskatchewan's largest power plants after it was knocked offline for months following a serious flood last summer.
Quebec police officer anonymously donates kidney, changes schoolteacher's life
A police officer on Montreal's South Shore anonymously donated a kidney that wound up drastically changing the life of a schoolteacher living on dialysis.
Canada's oldest hat store still going strong after 90 years
Since 1932, Montreal's Henri Henri has been filled to the brim with every possible kind of hat, from newsboy caps to feathered fedoras.
Road closed in Oak Bay, B.C., so elephant seal can cross
Police in Oak Bay, B.C., had to close a stretch of road Sunday to help an elephant seal named Emerson get safely back into the water.
B.C. breweries take home awards at World Beer Cup
Out of more than 9,000 entries from over 2,000 breweries in 50 countries, a handful of B.C. brews landed on the podium at the World Beer Cup this week.
Kitchener family says their 10-year-old needs life-saving drug that cost $600,000
Raneem, 10, lives with a neurological condition and liver disease and needs Cholbam, a medication, for a longer and healthier life.
Haida Elder suing Catholic Church and priest, hopes for 'healing and reconciliation'
The lawyer for a residential school survivor leading a proposed class-action defamation lawsuit against the Catholic Church over residential schools says the court action is a last resort.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
Fergus, Ont. man feels nickel-and-dimed for $0.05 property tax bill
A property tax bill is perplexing a small townhouse community in Fergus, Ont.