Ottawa, ON – After eight years of Justin Trudeau, Canadians are living through a housing hell. The cost of rent and a downpayment has doubled. Before Trudeau, it used to take 25 years to pay off a mortgage, now it takes 25 years just to save up for a downpayment.
Just before Trudeau delivered yet another housing photo-op today, RBC published their Housing Affordability Report, showing that a household earning a median pre-tax income needed to spend 63.5% of it to cover the costs of owning a typical average home at market price. That’s up from 61.8% in the third quarter. In 2015, the same measure was 39.3%.
In Halifax, where Trudeau delivered this announcement, RBC declared that ownership costs had reached a “record high”, jumping to 45.3% of median pre-tax household income needed to cover home ownership costs, far exceeding the long-run average of 31.9%. No wonder that there are now 30 homeless encampments across the Halifax region.
Despite Trudeau’s endless announcements, Rentals.Ca reported that the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Halifax is up 10.1% since last year, and the average rent for a two-bedroom unit is now $2,336. Meanwhile, the composite price of a home in the Halifax-Dartmouth region reached $524,500 – which is up 103% since Trudeau was first elected in 2015. Nobody can afford this.
Today’s announcement shows that the Liberals have no solutions to the crisis they created. Under Trudeau, Canada is building fewer homes than we did in the 1970s when Canada had half the population, yet the Liberals continue to double down on their failed policies by creating a $4 billion photo-op fund that he has added to today. But Canadians can’t live in photo-ops.
Only Common Sense Conservatives have a plan to build homes, not bureaucracy by requiring municipal gatekeepers to permit 15% more homebuilding each year or face a fine. Those that exceed the goal will get a bonus. This is a common sense plan that provides money for results, not more announcements.