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All eyes on housing crisis as government, opposition duel over who’s to blame and how to fix it

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A new 15-minute video produced by Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is the latest salvo in the political fight over housing policy, which has dominated the second half of this year in politics.

Poilievre made housing costs and affordability a key part of his message early in his leadership run, and housing has now become an issue that parties across the political spectrum agree is a crisis facing Canadians.

The Conservative leader’s video features statistics, charts and news articles that frame the housing issue as one of the Trudeau government’s own making.

“Like all countries, we’ve always had problems throughout Canada’s past, though almost anyone who got a job could save up and buy a home in their mid 20s. When did that all change? About eight years ago,” Poilievre says in the video.

Housing costs have been on the rise for years in Canada, with the national average home price sitting at roughly $650,000 in October 2023. Canadians are also facing increased pressure from rental costs, as well as mortgage costs as interests rate climb.

The government, for its part, agrees that the situation is dire.

“One of the things that I think it’s important to address off the top is that we are in a housing crisis and we need to build homes and we need to build them by the millions,” Housing Minister Sean Fraser said during an announcement in Richmond Hill, Ont., earlier this week.

 

Federal housing money coming too late, advocates say

 

Featured VideoSome Canadian housing advocates say Ottawa needs to move faster to get newly pledged money out the door to spur much-needed construction. The government committed $16 billion for rental and social housing in Tuesday’s fall fiscal update, but funding won’t start until at least 2025.

Eddie Sheppard, a vice-president at Abacus Data, says a recent poll conducted by his firm suggests housing is now the second-ranked priority for Canadians, behind the economy and the cost of living but just ahead of health care. And Conservatives hold an advantage on the issue, Sheppard said.

“Right now about one-third of Canadians think [the Conservatives] would be best able to handle the housing crisis, followed by the NDP and then the Liberal party,” he said.

“We’re really seeing the Conservatives take the lead here in the minds of Canadians in terms of who can best deal with the housing crisis.”

The Conservatives also hold a huge lead — 19 percentage points — in the top line polling numbers, a new Abacus Data poll suggests. That’s the largest Conservative lead, the polling agency says, since 2015.

Poilievre’s message has focused strongly on affordability, noting the rise in housing costs, inflation and other cost of living concerns. He recently dubbed the current situation as “living hell for the working class.”

Federal Housing Minister Sean Fraser standing at a press conference in Kelowna, B.C. on Wednesday in front of a housing construction project along with members of city council
Federal Housing Minister Sean Fraser makes a housing announcement in Kelowna, B.C., in October. (Brady Strachan/CBC )

Flurry of housing announcements

The government has responded in recent months with several measures on housing, including the elimination of the GST/HST on rental home construction and dedicated money to help boost construction. Housing Minister Fraser has engaged in a flurry of negotiations with municipalities to push for more aggressive local action in exchange for federal dollars through the Housing Accelerator Fund.

This last week also featured several housing announcements attended by prominent ministers, including Fraser, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

“We’re facing a shortage of housing right now. This is a big reason why prices are just way too high. So we need to build more homes faster,” Trudeau said at an announcement in Ajax, Ont., on Thursday.

 

Freeland outlines housing measures in fall economic statement

 

Featured VideoFinance Minister Chrystia Freeland says the federal government’s focus on housing is ‘supply, supply, supply.’

The government also recently released the Canada Mortgage Charter as part of an effort to help guide hundreds of thousands of Canadians who have mortgages that may soon need to be renewed at higher rates.

Trudeau this week criticized Poilievre’s plan as “empty slogans.”

“He thinks that bullying municipalities and cutting funding for affordable housing will somehow get more shovels in the ground. Well, I think we can all agree that’s not responsible leadership,” he said.

Sheppard said that despite the government’s efforts over the last few months, the message did not seem to be breaking through to Canadians.

“But I think the challenge is that a lot of Canadians are really overlooking those [announcements] and not necessarily even hearing or seeing them,” Sheppard said.

 

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Moe visiting Yorkton as Saskatchewan election campaign continues

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Saskatchewan Party Leader Scott Moe is set to be on the road today as the provincial election campaign continues.

Moe is set to speak in the city of Yorkton about affordability measures this morning before travelling to the nearby village of Theodore for an event with the local Saskatchewan Party candidate.

NDP Leader Carla Beck doesn’t have any events scheduled, though several party candidates are to hold press conferences.

On Thursday, Moe promised a directive banning “biological boys” from using school changing rooms with “biological girls” if re-elected.

The NDP said the Saskatchewan Party was punching down on vulnerable children.

Election day is Oct. 28.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 18, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Saskatchewan Party’s Moe pledges change room ban in schools; Beck calls it desperate

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REGINA – Saskatchewan Party Leader Scott Moe is promising a directive banning “biological boys” from using school changing rooms with “biological girls” if re-elected, a move the NDP’s Carla Beck says weaponizes vulnerable kids.

Moe made the pledge Thursday at a campaign stop in Regina. He said it was in response to a complaint that two biological males had changed for gym class with girls at a school in southeast Saskatchewan.

He said the ban would be his first order of business if he’s voted again as premier on Oct. 28.

It was not previously included in his party’s campaign platform document.

“I’ll be very clear, there will be a directive that would come from the minister of education that would say that biological boys will not be in the change room with biological girls,” Moe said.

He added school divisions should already have change room policies, but a provincial directive would ensure all have the rule in place.

Asked about the rights of gender-diverse youth, Moe said other children also have rights.

“What about the rights of all the other girls that are changing in that very change room? They have rights as well,” he said, followed by cheers and claps.

The complaint was made at a school with the Prairie Valley School Division. The division said in a statement it doesn’t comment on specific situations that could jeopardize student privacy and safety.

“We believe all students should have the opportunity to learn and grow in a safe and welcoming learning environment,” it said.

“Our policies and procedures align with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the Canadian Human Rights Act and the Saskatchewan Human Rights Code.”

Asked about Moe’s proposal, Beck said it would make vulnerable kids more vulnerable.

Moe is desperate to stoke fear and division after having a bad night during Wednesday’s televised leaders’ debate, she said.

“Saskatchewan people, when we’re at our best, are people that come together and deliver results, not divisive, ugly politics like we’ve seen time and again from Scott Moe and the Sask. Party,” Beck said.

“If you see leaders holding so much power choosing to punch down on vulnerable kids, that tells you everything you need to know about them.”

Beck said voters have more pressing education issues on their minds, including the need for smaller classrooms, more teaching staff and increased supports for students.

People also want better health care and to be able to afford gas and groceries, she added.

“We don’t have to agree to understand Saskatchewan people deserve better,” Beck said.

The Saskatchewan Party government passed legislation last year that requires parents consent to children under 16 using different names or pronouns at school.

The law has faced backlash from some LGBTQ+ advocates, who argue it violates Charter rights and could cause teachers to out or misgender children.

Beck has said if elected her party would repeal that legislation.

Heather Kuttai, a former commissioner with the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission who resigned last year in protest of the law, said Moe is trying to sway right-wing voters.

She said a change room directive would put more pressure on teachers who already don’t have enough educational support.

“It sounds like desperation to me,” she said.

“It sounds like Scott Moe is nervous about the election and is turning to homophobic and transphobic rhetoric to appeal to far-right voters.

“It’s divisive politics, which is a shame.”

She said she worries about the future of gender-affirming care in a province that once led in human rights.

“We’re the kind of people who dig each other out of snowbanks and not spew hatred about each other,” she said. “At least that’s what I want to still believe.”

Also Thursday, two former Saskatchewan Party government members announced they’re endorsing Beck — Mark Docherty, who retired last year and was a Speaker, and Glen Hart, who retired in 2020.

Ian Hanna, a speech writer and senior political adviser to former Saskatchewan Party premier Brad Wall, also endorsed Beck.

Earlier in the campaign, Beck received support from former Speaker Randy Weekes, who quit the Saskatchewan Party earlier this year after accusing caucus members of bullying.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2024.

— With files from Aaron Sousa in Edmonton

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Promise tracker: What the Saskatchewan Party and NDP pledge to do if they win Oct. 28

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REGINA – Saskatchewan‘s provincial election is on Oct. 28. Here’s a look at some of the campaign promises made by the two major parties:

Saskatchewan Party

— Continue withholding federal carbon levy payments to Ottawa on natural gas until the end of 2025.

— Reduce personal income tax rates over four years; a family of four would save $3,400.

— Double the Active Families Benefit to $300 per child per year and the benefit for children with disabilities to $400 a year.

— Direct all school divisions to ban “biological boys” from girls’ change rooms in schools.

— Increase the First-Time Homebuyers Tax Credit to $15,000 from $10,000.

— Reintroduce the Home Renovation Tax Credit, allowing homeowners to claim up to $4,000 in renovation costs on their income taxes; seniors could claim up to $5,000.

— Extend coverage for insulin pumps and diabetes supplies to seniors and young adults

— Provide a 50 per cent refundable tax credit — up to $10,000 — to help cover the cost of a first fertility treatment.

— Hire 100 new municipal officers and 70 more officers with the Saskatchewan Marshals Service.

— Amend legislation to provide police with more authority to address intoxication, vandalism and disturbances on public property.

— Platform cost of $1.2 billion, with deficits in the first three years and a small surplus in 2027.

NDP

— Pause the 15-cent-a-litre gas tax for six months, saving an average family about $350.

— Remove the provincial sales tax from children’s clothes and ready-to-eat grocery items like rotisserie chickens and granola bars.

— Pass legislation to limit how often and how much landlords can raise rent.

— Repeal the law that requires parental consent when children under 16 want to change their names or pronouns at school.

— Launch a provincewide school nutrition program.

— Build more schools and reduce classroom sizes.

— Hire 800 front-line health-care workers in areas most in need.

— Launch an accountability commission to investigate cost overruns for government projects.

— Scrap the marshals service.

— Hire 100 Mounties and expand detox services.

— Platform cost of $3.5 billion, with small deficits in the first three years and a small surplus in the fourth year.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct .17, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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