Housing minister says having a job should be enough to afford a home

Canada’s new minister of housing and infrastructure Sean Fraser says he wants having a job to be enough to afford a home, much like it used to be.

But Fraser says restoring the housing market to that level of affordability is a huge challenge that “might take a bit of time.”

“The idea should not be so strange that a young person who’s got a job should be able to afford a home they can live in, for themselves and their families. That was the way things were for much of my life growing up in small town Nova Scotia, and that’s what we hope to get back to you,” he explained.

The Liberals are showing signs of a renewed focus on housing amid mounting pressure to respond to the crisis — from their political opponents and Canadians alike.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre keeps pointing to the dramatic increase in home prices, rents, and interest rates since the Liberals came to power eight years ago.

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Meanwhile, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh claims the Liberals are not taking the housing crisis seriously enough, adding they are trying to put this issue on the backs of cities and provinces.

“We’re not going to solve the housing crisis if the federal government’s more interested in figuring out who to blame rather than actually getting to work,” he said during a stop in Edmonton Monday. “Secondly, there’s not the urgency required. What we’re up against is a massive housing crisis, which is only getting worse and worse.”

Singh says all governments also need to address the rise in the number of short-term rentals, noting many of these units could have been “a long-term place for someone to call home.”

“That is part of the problem. But there are a myriad of concerns and that’s why our approach is really comprehensive. We’re looking at a number of areas, building more supply, building the right type of supply, building rentals, specifically,” he explained.

“People are trying to build a life or are being forced to go back to live in their parents’ basements. People are trying to find a place to rent and there’s nowhere to rent — there’s just nothing available. The vacancy rates are so low and no one can find a place. It is so serious that it’s going to take real serious action.”

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The Liberals have seen their fortunes fall in the polls, which favour the Conservatives, as affordability and housing are top-of-mind issues.

Many warn addressing the housing crisis won’t be easy for the federal government, as other levels of government hold many powers affecting housing policy.

However, University of Ottawa adjunct professor Carolyn Whitzman says the federal government can’t skirt its responsibility toward the housing crisis, even if other levels of government are also involved in housing policy.

“The federal government’s going to have to put on big-kid pants and actually deal with it.”

The Canada Mortgage Housing Corporation warned last year that the country is not on track to build the 5.8 million homes needed by 2030 to restore affordability.

-With files from Cormac Mac Sweeney