The upcoming federal budget will include a $6-billion infrastructure fund that would require provinces and territories to adopt certain housing policies in order to access the money, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday.
Trudeau was in Dartmouth, N.S., alongside Housing Minister Sean Fraser as part of the government香蕉视频直播檚 pre-budget tour, which aims to drum up attention and win back support for the Liberals on cost-of-living issues.
香蕉视频直播淏uilding more homes faster 香蕉视频直播� this is how we香蕉视频直播檒l address the shortage of housing options for Canadians, and this is how we香蕉视频直播檒l make it fairer for younger generations who feel like they香蕉视频直播檙e falling behind because housing costs are too high,香蕉视频直播� Trudeau said.
The federal government plans to make $1 billion directly available to cities for urgent infrastructure needs, with that money flowing in the 2024-25 fiscal year.
The other $5 billion would be allocated to agreements with provinces and territories meant to support long-term priorities. That funding would flow over a longer period of time, with those details hammered out during negotiations.
Municipalities have been aggressively urging the federal government to commit more dollars toward infrastructure, noting their communities cannot significantly ramp up homebuilding to match population growth without things like water supply and roads.
While Tuesday香蕉视频直播檚 announcement appears to respond to that plea, the federal government is also using the infrastructure fund to push provinces and territories to co-operate on the Liberal government香蕉视频直播檚 housing agenda.
To access funding, provinces and territories would have to agree to a set of conditions, including the adoption of the recently announced renters香蕉视频直播� bill of rights, which would create a national standard lease agreement and require landlords to disclose previous rent prices.
The federal government is also demanding that provinces and territories freeze development charges for three years and require municipalities to broadly allow the construction of fourplexes.
Finally, it wants provinces and territories to adopt upcoming changes to the national building code as well as automatically approve the construction of homes that follow designs taken from the Liberal government香蕉视频直播檚 upcoming housing design catalogue.
The deadline to secure a deal will be Jan. 1, 2025, for provinces and April 1, 2025, for territories.
If a province or territory doesn香蕉视频直播檛 secure a deal by those deadlines, their funding will be transferred to the municipal stream of the infrastructure fund, the government said.
The announcement is being met with pushback from some premiers who are displeased with the federal government香蕉视频直播檚 decision to place conditions on provinces and territories.
Last week, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said his government would not introduce legislation to automatically legalize fourplexes across the province, arguing that such a move would lead to pushback from some residents.
Following Tuesday香蕉视频直播檚 announcement, a spokeswoman for Ontario Housing Minister Paul Calandra said the provincial government will wait for more details from the federal government and is open to collaboration.
香蕉视频直播淗owever, we know that local municipalities know their communities best and don香蕉视频直播檛 believe in forcing them to build where it doesn香蕉视频直播檛 make sense,香蕉视频直播� said Justine Teplycky.
Saskatchewan blasted Tuesday香蕉视频直播檚 announcement as another attempt by the federal government to wade into provincial jurisdiction.
A spokesman for the provincial government said 香蕉视频直播渨hile multi-dwelling housing may be a high priority in major urban centres like Toronto and Vancouver, it is not a high priority in most Saskatchewan communities.香蕉视频直播�
New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs said he hadn香蕉视频直播檛 read the details yet but called the threat to redirect funding directly to municipalities if provinces don香蕉视频直播檛 agree to the conditions 香蕉视频直播渁 bit unfortunate.香蕉视频直播�
Meanwhile, British Columbia Premier David Eby welcomed the federal government香蕉视频直播檚 decision to attach strings to the funding.
香蕉视频直播淚f provinces don香蕉视频直播檛 step up 香蕉视频直播� the money should come to the provinces who are doing the work,香蕉视频直播� Eby said.
Skyrocketing shelter costs have ratcheted up the pressure on all levels of government to do more on housing.
The Liberal federal government, in particular, has faced the brunt of the blame for housing unaffordability, to the benefit of federal Conservatives who are riding high in public opinion polls.
In a statement, Conservative housing critic Scott Aitchison panned Tuesday香蕉视频直播檚 announcement as another 香蕉视频直播減hoto-op香蕉视频直播� that won香蕉视频直播檛 get the homes Canadians need built.
香蕉视频直播淐anadians can香蕉视频直播檛 live in Liberal photo-ops or announcements. Common sense Conservatives will fire the gatekeepers and remove the bureaucracy to build the homes Canadians can afford,香蕉视频直播� Aitchison said.
Ahead of the federal budget, which is set to be presented on April 16, Trudeau has promised that one of its major focuses will be on expanding housing supply.
The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. estimated in September that the country needs to build 5.8 million homes by 2030 to restore affordability.
Tuesday香蕉视频直播檚 announcement noted the upcoming budget will also add $400 million to the existing housing accelerator fund.
The first $4-billion phase of the fund saw Ottawa striking deals with cities and offering money in exchange for changes to municipal bylaws and regulations that are supposed to boost homebuilding.
The Liberal government also said that future public-transit funding will require municipalities to meet certain criteria.
Requirements would include eliminating all mandatory minimum parking requirements and allowing high-density housing within 800 metres of a high-frequency transit line.
Municipalities would also have to approve high-density housing within 800 metres of post-secondary institutions.
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