LILLEY: Trudeau attacks Poilievre's housing plan when asked about his own

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To listen to Justin Trudeau, the real problem driving Canada’s housing crisis is Pierre Poilievre’s housing plan. When the Conservative leader raised questions about housing starts slowing and prices going up, that was Trudeau’s response.

Poilievre kicked off Question Period pointing out that despite truckloads of money being spent, Trudeau was not getting results.

“Because of the incompetence of this prime minister and liberal city hall in Toronto, rent there has more than doubled over the last nine years,” Poilievre pointed out.

“What’s worse is that the prime minister’s so-called housing accelerator fund has given a half billion dollars to Toronto and only months later, the politicians in that city hiked up on home building taxes by 20%. Now, 30% of all home building costs is government taxes alone.”

When Poilievre asked Trudeau why he’s sending money to bureaucrats who block home building, Trudeau didn’t discuss his own government’s track record. Instead, he raised Poilievre’s plan.

“We see the Conservative leader’s hypocrisy on full display. Let’s talk about their housing proposal,” Trudeau said.

“His proposal won’t build homes fast enough and doesn’t reach enough cities and creates unnecessary bureaucracy. It also rips up the 179 housing accelerator agreements”

Trudeau’s problem with Poilievre’s plan is that it isn’t the Liberal plan. I hate to break it to Trudeau, but his plan isn’t working.

His much-vaunted Housing Accelerator Fund was announced in the April 2022 federal budget, and more than two years later, hasn’t built a single home. In fact, money only started flowing from the plan last fall after the issue of housing affordability reached a crescendo the previous summer.

In November 2015, the month Trudeau was sworn into office, the average price of a home, according to the Canadian Real Estate Association, was $456,186. Last month, CREA said the average home price was sitting at $703,446 or a 54% increase since Trudeau took office.

Of course, in November 2015, the average price could get you a two-storey single family home in much of the country, now that average price will get you a town or row house.

The average price of a single-family home in the Toronto area is over $1 million now, compared to $600,000 when Trudeau took office. Most who aren’t in the housing market already face a steep barrier to get in and buy a home.

According to a housing affordability report, buying a single family home in Toronto will cost you more than $1.2 million, require a $240,000 down payment, and 25 years of saving to get the down payment.

In Vancouver, that single-family home will cost $1.6 million, require a $335,000 down payment and 37 years of saving.

Rent is another matter.

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The website Rentseeker.ca which tracks stats in the market said that the average one bedroom in Toronto cost $1,133 per month in the fall of 2015. Now, renting that same apartment will cost you $2,196.

The latest report from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation showed that housing starts were down 2.2% in April.

No wonder Trudeau doesn’t want to talk about his own record. Higher prices, higher taxes, fewer builds, and he is still out there announcing billions across the country.

If anyone wants to know why Trudeau’s fortunes have fallen of late with younger Canadians, and why he put so much emphasis in the budget on housing, this is it. Right now, most younger Canadians in or near many major urban areas can’t comprehend buying a home, especially not a single-family home, without help from their extended family.

Trudeau’s policies helped get us to where we are, and his recent attempts haven’t worked. That’s why he’s fixated on Poilievre’s plan instead of his own record.