Trudeau announces first deal under $4B housing fund
, The Canadian Press
More than 2,000 new housing units should be built in London, Ont., over the next three years as the city became the first in the country to sign a deal under the new national housing accelerator fund Wednesday.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he was issuing a challenge to other mayors to "step up with their proposals" and "build more homes faster."
The $4-billion accelerator program was first announced in the 2022 federal budget but applications weren't accepted until July.
Trudeau said London was the fastest to respond to the call for ambitious plans that eliminate municipal barriers to getting homes built more quickly. That includes, for example, zoning rules that limit the kind of homes that can be built in specific areas.
London's proposal, which Trudeau called "absolutely visionary," allows for building high-density housing developments without the need for rezoning and allows four units to be built on a single property even in low-density neighbourhoods.
London will receive $74 million toward the housing projects.
The announcement comes as the Liberals are facing heavy pressure to respond to a housing shortage that is compounded by two years of high inflation.
The Liberal caucus is meeting in London for a retreat before the House of Commons resumes sitting next week, and Trudeau is expected to get an earful from his MPs about the party's flagging fortunes in the polls.
Various media reports have quoted backbench MPs as saying the party isn't communicating its accomplishments well and that Trudeau isn't listening to the concerns of MPs who are not in cabinet.
Quebec MP Brenda Shanahan, the Liberal caucus chair, said Tuesday that her fellow MPs are having "very frank" conversations.
Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly said those talks are crucial.
"We are going to have conversations that are sometimes not always easy, sometimes difficult, but necessary because we are a government that has been in power for eight years now, a government that has faced several crises and each time, we were able to overcome them.”
Earlier Wednesday, Housing Minister Sean Fraser said there are unprecedented measures coming on housing, and implied the London announcement is just the first of many.
"This (afternoon) announcement is one of a series of measures we're going to be advancing over the course of the fall that are going to have a meaningful impact to get more homes built in this country," he said.
Fraser said Ottawa is planning new measures to tackle the housing crisis, working with the private and non-profit sectors.
"We're going to need to advance measures that are going to help change the financial equation for builders who are dealing with a lot of projects that are actually approved but have been put on pause because of a higher-interest rate environment," Fraser said.
He also said the federal government will "work to change" how long it takes cities to issue zoning permits and find ways to attract immigrants with construction skills to Canada.
Fraser added the government will need to be "investing in innovation, like building homes in factories so we can actually be more productive with the assets that we have, with the investments that we make."
The Liberals are also trying to signal they are prudent fiscal managers.
An ongoing spending review calls for a $15-billion cut over five years, and a drop of $4 billion each following year. Treasury Board President Anita Anand insisted that won't affect priorities such as housing, affordability and support to vulnerable Canadians.
"We're going to continue to be focused on those priorities while making sure that our own fiscal house is in order. And that's what all Canadians are doing right now," she said.
Charles Sousa, a Toronto-area MP and Ontario's former finance minister, said the party needs to balance building more in the suburbs with managing federal spending.
"We have to do more collaboratively with the provinces and municipalities, and we have to find ways to be constructive," he said.
"We redistribute wealth where necessary, but we have to promote growth; we have to promote economic vitality."
MPs are meeting in regional groups Wednesday to touch base on issues their constituents have raised, as well as unflattering polling numbers in surveys the Liberals commissioned this summer.
Yet Vancouver-area MP Ken Hardie claimed his constituents are generally feeling positive.
"We were talking about this last night. Whatever the polls are saying, we're not hearing it at the doors," he said.
"We were expecting to run into some heavy weather; some people are upset. Most people aren't even paying attention."
The caucus meeting is taking place in a convention centre with locked doors and heavy security.
On Tuesday, a dozen protesters gathered outside the venue holding flags with expletives seen during the Freedom Convoy protests in 2022. Some in that group were seen that evening lighting off fireworks in the vicinity of hotels where Liberal MPs were staying.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2023.
— With files from Emilie Bergeron
London, Ont.'s housing plan 'uniquely strong': Housing Minister Sean Fraser
, BNN Bloomberg
London, Ont.’s flexibility when it comes to its housing strategy made it the easy choice as the first city to secure funding under the federal government’s new Housing Accelerator Fund, Housing Minister Sean Fraser said.
On Wednesday, the federal government announced London would receive $74 million toward its plan to build 2,000 new homes in the city. The funding announcement is the first under the government’s $4-billion accelerator program, first announced in 2022.
Fraser called London’s proposal “uniquely strong,” but only awarded the money after the city approved the federal government’s requests for housing projects near public transit and bylaw tweaks to allow four apartment units in a dwelling.
“When they were able to add the additional competitive features to their application, it made the decision easier to make London be the first successful applicant through this fund,” Fraser told BNN Bloomberg in a television interview Wednesday.
Fraser said the money is intended to help boost the housing supply in the cities and communities that apply for grants, but how they choose to use the money will vary on a case-by-case basis.
This is far from the only announcement either, Fraser said the government has seen “hundreds and hundreds” of applications from cities of all sizes.
“We’ve now set the bar for what we expect,” Fraser said. “We expect cities to legalize housing more broadly, we expect cities to build more housing near transit.”
Fraser also teased that more announcements from the Housing Accelerator Fund would be revealed in the fall.
What homes can median income earners afford across Canada?
, BNN Bloomberg
As many prospective buyers struggle to afford homes, new research from Zoocasa is highlighting what median-income earners can afford across each Canadian province.
Zoocasa shared the findings in a Monday blog post, noting that home ownership is “remarkably difficult” across all provinces and that median incomes were not enough to afford a home anywhere in Canada at benchmark prices.
However, the research highlighted some “hidden gems” across Canada when it comes to homes in an affordable range based on median salaries for that province.
MOST AND LEAST AFFORDABLE PROVINCES
Newfoundland and Labrador was found to have the highest level of affordability among the Canadian provinces, where the difference between what someone earning the media income could afford and the benchmark price for a home was just over $43,000.
Prospective buyers in Newfoundland and Labrador with a median income could afford a home worth approximately $246,459, while the provincial benchmark sits at $289,800, the research found.
Ontario and British Columbia were the least affordable provinces, according to Zoocasa’s findings.
In Ontario, the gap between the median income and benchmark price was about $637,000. Ontario homes were priced at about $920,000 on average, while median-income buyers could only afford homes priced up to $283,180.
In B.C., median-income earners could only afford homes priced up to $277,466, about $722,000 lower than the benchmark price of $998,900.
However, Zoocasa noted that the gap between median income levels and benchmark prices doesn’t necessarily mean home ownership is out of reach for median-income earners, as there are homes for sale in the range of what those buyers could afford.
Here is a look at some of the homes listed across Canada within an affordable range for people earning median incomes.
ONTARIO
In Ontario, Zoocasa highlighted that median-income earners could afford a home in Sault Ste. Marie listed at $229,000. The detached home features three bedrooms and one bathroom but it doesn’t have parking available.
You can see photos of the home below, courtesy of Exit Realty True North.
ALBERTA
In Edmonton, median income earners could afford a home priced at $319,900. The townhouse features three bedrooms, two bathrooms and two parking spaces.
You can see photos of the home below, courtesy of Yegpro Realty.
BRITISH COLUMBIA
In Fort St. John, B.C., the Zoocasa report showcased a duplex unit with three bedrooms and two bathrooms but no available parking. The home would be affordable to median-income earners at a listed price of $260,900.
You can see photos of the home below, courtesy of Century 21 Energy Realty.
NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR
Zoocasa highlighted a home in Newfoundland and Labrador listed for $225,000 that is within an affordable range for median-income earners. Located in St John’s, the detached home features four bedrooms, one bathroom and no parking spaces.
You can see photos of the home below, courtesy of 3% Realty East Coast.
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