Ottawa, ON – After nine years of Justin Trudeau, the cost of housing has doubled. Rent has become so expensive that a woman in Kingston, Ontario is spending 100% of her income on rent, while a man in Abbotsford, BC had to continue living with their separated partner as neither of them could afford to move out.
Canadians are living through a housing hell. This was made even clearer today after the Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD) published a report detailing that 73 percent of GTA residents expressed dissatisfaction with the availability and affordability of homes.
On top of this, 90 percent of residents in the GTA believe there is a housing shortage, while 83 percent think affordability is a significant issue. This is clear from the fact that 59 percent of GTA residents believe the cost of living is the most pressing issue that elected leaders should address, with housing availability and affordability being a rising concern, now at 30 percent.
It is clear that Justin Trudeau is no longer listening to Canadians. Instead of building the homes Canadians need by firing the gatekeepers and cutting red tape, Trudeau has continued to build more bureaucracy that is getting in the way of home building. When Canadians were informed that 25 percent of the cost of a new home was wrapped up in taxes, fees and charges, 74 percent of respondents felt it was unfair. Despite this, Trudeau has rewarded municipal gatekeepers who have increased these taxes and fees, blocking housing construction right across the country.
As a direct consequence of Trudeau’s inability to remove red tape, Statistics Canada reported that the residential construction sector collapsed by 2.3 percent in April, which is the largest decline since May 2023. This means Canada is not building anywhere close to the number of homes it needs for its growing population. And in Trois-Rivières and Rimouski, the average price of available housing surged by about 50 percent between the springs of 2020 and 2024. While Sherbrooke saw an increase of 44 percent. In Quebec City and Gatineau, the increase was as high as 33 percent.
Canadians don’t have to live like this. Common Sense Conservatives will bring homes Canadians can afford by tying infrastructure funding to housing starts and firing the gatekeepers.