Trudeau says he 'should have, could have' moved faster on housing

Catharine Tunney · CBC News

· Posted: Sep 18, 2023 3:11 PM EDT | Last Updated: 4 minutes ago

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says helium "could have" and "should have" moved faster connected making affordable lodging a precedence for his authorities — an penetration that comes arsenic his government faces the worst polling it's seen since coming to power.

As Parliament resumes for the autumn sitting, Trudeau spoke to CBC's Front Burner about his grounds truthful acold on housing affordability — the governmental issue that could specify the adjacent election.

"I volition accidental it hasn't been enough," helium told big Jayme Poisson. "We should have, could person moved faster. Absolutely. There's ever much to do."

The lodging marketplace crunch has been a persistent constituent of vulnerability for the Liberals implicit the summer. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has blamed Trudeau's authorities for a scope of problems facing Canadians post-pandemic, including ballooning rents and a shortage of housing.

WATCH: PM says authorities could person moved 'faster' connected lodging shortage

While Canada's nationalist lodging bureau says advancement is being made connected gathering capable lodging to adjacent the affordability gap, a caller study from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation says astir 3.5 cardinal caller units volition person to beryllium built by the extremity of the decade.

Trudeau said repeatedly successful the interrogation that helium believes Canadians would consciousness adjacent much squeezed nether a Conservative government.

"If we hadn't got the national authorities backmost into the concern of housing, past everything would beryllium overmuch worse close now," helium said, alluding to the government's National Housing Strategy.

"It's casual to say, 'Oh, lodging is unspeakable close now.' And it is. Would it person been worse if we hadn't lifted a cardinal radical retired of poorness implicit the archetypal fewer years successful government? Would it person been worse if we hadn't created a cardinal jobs? Would it beryllium worse if we didn't determination guardant connected $10-a-day kid care?"

Trudeau said he'd emotion "to question a national magic wand" to get much homes and purpose-built rental units built in municipalities.

"That's not the mode this state works," helium said.

WATCH: Trudeau says authorities tin 'bend this curve' connected housing

Trudeau announced caller measures past week aimed astatine countering rising lodging prices — and astatine fending disconnected claims that his authorities has been missing successful enactment connected the issue.

The measures include removing the GST from the operation of caller rental apartments to spur caller development. 

The national authorities is also requiring that municipalities repeal oregon amend exclusionary zoning policies successful bid to entree the government's Housing Accelerator Fund.

Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Minister Sean Fraser has sent letters to municipalities — including 1 to the politician of Calgary — threatening to withhold funds if they don't tweak their zoning policies.

When asked wherefore his authorities is making these moves 8 years into its mandate, Trudeau said now is the clip to propulsion municipalities into action.

"Even successful Calgary that yet did it, it was a precise contested treatment astatine municipal successful municipal council chambers," helium said. Calgary City Council voted Saturday to o.k. a new housing strategy that volition present broad rezoning of residential districts to let for much lodging types.

"Getting them to the close spot has been a batch of work."

The Conservatives besides person pitched new housing measures. They accidental they mean to present authorities arsenic soon arsenic imaginable that besides would destruct the GST connected immoderate rental construction.

Poilievre's proposed "Building Homes Not Bureaucracy Act" would besides withhold national backing from cities that don't physique much homes, and would enforce a "NIMBY penalty" for egregious cases. NIMBY stands for "not successful my backyard," a word utilized to picture section residents opposing caller developments successful their neighbourhoods.

Speaking to Poisson, Trudeau seemed keen connected fighting an predetermination connected his lodging plan.

"The question that radical volition inquire politically implicit the coming years is, which authorities oregon which imaginable authorities has the solutions to this truly large problem? And that's what radical are going to look at, not what is the cleanable mode to bash it," helium said.

"Who has the champion plan? Who has the way record? Who has the quality to crook this curve?"

Poilievre is besides anxious to marque the run astir Trudeau's record. 

"After 8 years of Justin Trudeau, everything costs more," Poilievre said Sunday during a quality conference.

"Work doesn't pay, lodging costs person doubled, rent has doubled, the needed owe outgo and down outgo for a location person doubled."

His Conservatives are trampling the Liberals successful astir polls and are feeling re-energized aft a September argumentation convention.

Trudeau dismissed questions astir the polls, arguing his enactment was little successful the polls 2 months earlier winning a majority 2015 than it is now.

"First of all, however galore of our young radical are really answering polls?" helium said. 

"People are aggravated and worried. Absolutely. But it's not capable conscionable to bespeak backmost that existent choler to them and get up successful the polls. People privation america to lick those challenges."

Trudeau said that erstwhile helium and Poilievre take each different connected successful the adjacent predetermination campaign, Canadians volition beryllium faced with two antithetic visions of Canada's future.

"I deliberation 1 of the challenges with [previous Conservative leaders] Andrew Scheer and Erin O'Toole is that I don't deliberation radical had a wide consciousness of what was astatine involvement successful presumption of the benignant of state we were building. They did a precise bully occupation of looking reasonably harmless oregon inoffensive," said Trudeau.

"I deliberation Mr. Poilievre has been very, precise wide that helium sees a radically antithetic aboriginal for the country than what we've been gathering astir climate, astir inclusive economical growth, astir reconciliation, astir evidence-based policy, astir defending people's cardinal rights ..."

To perceive to Jayme Poisson's afloat interrogation Tuesday morning, travel CBC's regular quality podcast Front Burner wherever you get your podcasts.