NDP statement on National Housing Day 2023

Canada’s NDP Housing critic Jenny Kwan issued the following statement:

“On this National Housing Day, New Democrats call out the Liberal government’s failure to fix the urgent housing crisis across Canada. Canadians are facing renovictions and sky-high rents. Cities across the country are seeing a rise in homelessness with encampments appearing in cities like St. John’s, Halifax, Gatineau, Toronto and Vancouver.

Seniors, students, families and newcomers need homes they can afford now.

The NDP has fought for a range of measures to fix this crisis including the call for serious investments in the development of social and co-op housing and provide support to help finance for the construction of rental homes people can afford. Despite the need for immediate action, the Liberals’ Fall Economic Statement is delaying funding to these key housing measures until Budget 2025/26.

This is completely contrary to the Minister of Housing statement that he wants to see more homes built faster. It also undermines the Bank of Canada Governor’s statement that housing investments is not inflationary spending and that it can even drive down the high cost of living. But once again, this Liberal government just disappoints. By slow walking the delivery of housing investments, Liberals show how completely out of touch they are with what people are going through. The sad reality is that the needs of everyday people is put to the back burner once again. Meanwhile, rent will continue to skyrocket, homeless encampments will continue to proliferate, and everyday Canadians will continue to struggle to find a home they can afford.

For a very long-time, successive Liberal and Conservative government have let housing profiteers using the housing market as a casino instead of protecting people. In the last decade, Canada has been losing affordable homes far faster than new ones are being built. And under Justin Trudeau’s leadership, for Canadians looking for a new place, rent is up by 60 per cent. Meanwhile, Pierre Poilievre called social housing a “Soviet-style takeover” of housing, when in fact they are homes workers, and their families can afford. Canadians deserve better.

And New Democrats will continue to work towards a co-developed for-Indigenous, by-Indigenous housing strategy to fix the decades of Liberal and Conservative underfunding in infrastructure for First Nations, Métis and Inuit.

New Democrats will continue to fight for homes people can afford.”