PM Justin Trudeau touts housing plan in Vancouver Friday

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was in Vancouver Friday, promoting the Canada Housing Infrastructure fund — worth $1 billion — that his government introduced Thursday.

He says the fund is just one of the many steps his government has taken to tackle the nationwide crisis.

“We’re building homes faster, we’re reducing red tape — not everyone gets that,” Trudeau said.

“[Federal Conservative Party Leader] Pierre Poilievre likes to go around saying the country is broken. He has announced that he is going to cut the housing accelerator funding.”

On Tuesday, Poilievre said his MPs will no longer support municipalities seeking funding from what he calls a “bureaucratic” program.

Trudeau says the fund will help build new homes across Canada.

“[The fund will be focused on] building the kind of infrastructures that unlock housing for municipalities so we can build more homes, create more density, and provide solutions for more people affordably right across the country, but particularly in cities where it’s so needed,” he said.

The PM also weighed in on the ongoing B.C. port labour dispute, saying he is confident both sides can reach a negotiated deal.

“Ultimately we’ve always said the best deals end at the bargaining table,” he said.

“We are expecting and encouraging all parties to work together at the bargaining table and to remember — in their disagreements, they are hurting Canadians, workers, farmers, union workers, for every minute they don’t develop a solution.”

All this comes on the heels of Tuesday’s U.S. Presidential Election. Trudeau says he’s looking forward to working with Donald Trump on several issues, and he ended his speech with a message to the new American administration.

“The reliableness of Canada as a partner to so many and so much of the American economy means that tariffs or thickening of the border between Canada and the U.S. will inevitably hurt American jobs as well,” he said.

“We are ready to work with them right now in constructive ways to make sure that people on both sides of our border are succeeding.”