Jurisdictional jousting has begun over federal funding for housing projects as provincial leaders tell the Trudeau government to stay in its lane.
Over the last week, the Trudeau Liberals have announced billions in funding to kick-start home building in the country. Much of that money comes with conditions that the provinces meet certain criteria and a number of benchmarks.
“This is a significant overreach by the federal government to come in and attempt to nationalize housing,” said Jason Nixon, Alberta’s Minister of Seniors, Community and Social Services.
Nixon says it’s unfair for Ottawa to impose regulations on building codes in exchange for money for affordable housing.
For instance, in order to access $6 billion in new infrastructure money offered to help provinces and territories tackle the housing crisis, provinces must require municipalities to allow development of four-unit residential dwellings, commonly known as four plexes. In some cases, those building could be up to four-storeys tall without amending construction bylaws.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford has spoken out strongly against four plexes recently, and on Wednesday urged all levels of government to stay within their own jurisdictions.
“I’m going to leave that up to each municipality to decide because they know better than the province and the federal government,” Ford told reporters in Vaughan, ON.
Not all premiers are as clear when it comes to the stings attached to federal funding. When asked about those conditions, Manitoba’s NDP Premier Wab Kinew pointed to his province’s own housing plans which includes rent supplements.
“If the federal government wants to join us in these positive steps, they’re more than welcome to help out,” said Kinew.
The pushback from some provincial leaders didn’t seem to bother Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who reiterated Thursday that his government will work with any level of government to get more homes built.
“If the province doesn’t want to step up with ambition on building the infrastructure needed to support more housing, in general across the province, we’ll do it specifically with willing partners,” said Trudeau.
While politics does play a role in the negotiations between all three levels of government, Randall Bartlett, Senior Director of Canadian Economics with Desjardins points out it’s something we’ve seen before with infrastructure projects.
“Housing is just the most recent venue by which the Federal government has levered its fiscal firepower to get the province’s municipalities to move in a direction they would like them to,” Bartlett said in an interview with CTV News.
TORONTO – Ontario is pushing through several bills with little or no debate, which the government house leader says is due to a short legislative sitting.
The government has significantly reduced debate and committee time on the proposed law that would force municipalities to seek permission to install bike lanes when they would remove a car lane.
It also passed the fall economic statement that contains legislation to send out $200 cheques to taxpayers with reduced debating time.
The province tabled a bill Wednesday afternoon that would extend the per-vote subsidy program, which funnels money to political parties, until 2027.
That bill passed third reading Thursday morning with no debate and is awaiting royal assent.
Government House Leader Steve Clark did not answer a question about whether the province is speeding up passage of the bills in order to have an election in the spring, which Premier Doug Ford has not ruled out.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
