The Liberals say the plan to “solve the housing crisis” will build 3.9 million homes

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OTTAWA — The federal Liberals have unveiled a plan to address the housing crisis, building on recent announcements of new tax breaks, more than $1 billion in homeless funds and a nationwide effort to build more housing on public land.

“Today we're releasing the largest and most ambitious housing plan Canada has ever seen,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in Vaughan, Ont. on Friday.

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“This is a housing plan on a scale not seen in generations, including for tenants. We're talking about 3.9 million homes by 2031.”

Canada estimates it needs to build 3.1 million homes by 2030 to close its housing shortage, the parliamentary budget officer reported Thursday.

The 28-page document, which comes days before the federal budget, is the minority government's latest attempt to set the agenda on affordability as it loses significant ground on cost-of-living issues to the Conservatives.

Ottawa is also sending a message to provinces, territories and municipalities that they too need to step up, calling the plan a “call to action.”

“No one level of government can solve the national housing crisis on its own,” Housing Minister Sean Fraser said in an interview.

“But if we work together … and create incentives to encourage each other to adopt policies that help get us to where we need to be, I know we can accomplish this very important task.”

The Liberals' plan promises to address the spectrum of housing affordability issues facing Canadians, from homelessness to skyrocketing rents to homelessness.

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While much of the plan was announced during or before the government's pre-budget tour, the document includes several new measures, including expanded tax breaks for housing.

The federal government plans to increase the rate of capital cost allowance for flats from four to 10 per cent, which will increase the amount of tax write-offs that builders can get.

It also extends GST exemption on rent of student residences built by public universities, colleges and school authorities.

The plan would also provide more money to fight homelessness as communities across the country struggle with encampments and limited housing.

The Liberal government is boosting Reaching Homes, the federal homeless initiative, with an extra $1 billion over four years.

Another $250 million is set aside to help communities end camps and relocate people to shelters. The federal government asks the provinces and territories to match this amount.

The Liberals are also promising a “historic change” to how the government uses public land to build housing, including giving more land to build homes and leasing land rather than selling it.

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And they want to restrict large corporate investors from buying single-family homes.

Other plans of the plan include measures to train skilled professionals, facilitate the recognition of foreign certificates and increase productivity in the construction industry, speeding up the process of building houses.

Implementation of the Liberals' housing plan will depend in part on cooperation from the provinces and territories, some of which have pushed back against the federal government over what they see as jurisdictional overreach.

Quebec, Saskatchewan, Ontario and New Brunswick were unhappy with Ottawa's decision to grant access to the new infrastructure money contingent on a number of conditions, including the legalization of four-plexes.

But Fraser pushed back against those criticisms, saying Canadians want their issues resolved.

“When people knock on the door of my constituency office and they have a problem, the last thing they want to hear is that it's not my job to help them,” Fraser said.

“So, from my perspective, it was important that we do everything we can to resolve this issue and show Canadians that even where there are technical jurisdictional hurdles, that doesn't give us a reason to do anything. everything we can do.'

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As the Liberals aggressively market their housing plan, whether it lands with Canadians will depend on whether they still believe the current government can solve their problems.

The federal Conservatives, who have maintained a double-digit lead in opinion polls since the summer, appear to have successfully convinced a large contingent of voters that the Liberals will only make the cost of living worse.

After recent government housing announcements, the federal Conservatives fired them, saying that pouring more money into “government bureaucracy” won't solve the housing crisis.

“Trudeau has been in power for eight years. He has been making such announcements since 2015. What are the results?” This was stated by the leader of conservatives, Pierre Polievre, in a recent interview with the media.

Fraser acknowledged that the Conservatives have been able to focus Canadians' attention on housing, but said their solutions fall short of what is needed.

“I think it's dangerous when politicians try to pander to people's real concerns without doing anything to help them. It tells me that they are driven more by their appetite for political power than by helping people who are struggling,” Fraser said.

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Polievre argued that the government should get out of the way and allow developers to build more houses.

His proposed housing plan would require cities to increase housing construction by 15 percent each year or withhold funding to cover their typical infrastructure spending. Those who build more than the target get “bonuses”.

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