Jagmeet Singh slams Trudeau on housing in Edmonton

EDMONTON – On Monday while in Edmonton, Canada’s NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh lamented Justin Trudeau’s lack of leadership on housing and comments that, “housing isn't a primary federal responsibility.” Singh reiterated that not only is the Prime Minister wrong and lacking in his responsibility to help families find a home, but he also missed an important opportunity in this year’s budget to show that he meant it when he promised Canadians he would tackle the housing crisis.

Singh is urging Trudeau to take responsibility and announce measures this fall to build more homes that people can afford faster, to lower rent and protect renters, and to create a housing market that works for families, not super-rich investors.

“Across the country, rent is at a record high. People are getting kicked out because landlords want to make more money or they simply can’t find an affordable and suitable home for their families,” said Singh. “Trudeau promised Canadians that he would makes things better, but in reality, the housing crisis continues to get worse under his watch. He has failed to build the affordable homes that people need and what’s worse, is that now that he’s failed, he’s trying to pretend that it isn’t his responsibility. That's a failure of leadership and people deserve better.”

In Edmonton alone, 3,100 people are without a home and 49,000 families are living in a home that is unsuitable, inadequate or unaffordable because they can’t find anything else. As is similar across the country, people in Edmonton faced record high rent with the cost of a 1-bedroom apartment going up by 12.8% in only one year.

“In my twenties, when I had to take in and care for my little brother, I felt this fear of not being able to pay rent at the end of the month. That’s what motivates me today to fight to help people so they don’t have to go through this. In a country as rich and as vast as ours, it doesn’t have to be this way,” said Singh.

Singh spent the summer travelling across the country to talk with Canadians about the cost of housing and proposing concrete solutions that the federal government could implement this fall that would help tackle the crisis we’re facing. Notably, New Democrats have called for waiving the federal portion of the GST/HST on affordable purposed built rentals, and improving and expanding existing federal programs to alleviate the impact of interest rates on housing projects and to help build more community housing.

The NDP also called for the creation of an affordable housing acquisition fund that would support community housing providers in acquiring rental buildings that go on the market, to preserve and improve affordability permanently.

“The reality is both the Liberals and Conservatives have fueled the housing crisis that is hurting renters. When they were in power, Stephen Harper and Pierre Poilievre promised to implement tax incentives to encourage the building of affordable rental units and they broke their promise despite forming government three times," said Singh. "Now, Pierre Poilievre is proposing measures that will mostly benefit rich investors. I’m fighting to create a housing market that works for you— not ultra-rich investors – because everyone deserves a home they can afford that fits their family’s needs.”