{"id":20145,"date":"2023-07-30T14:23:13","date_gmt":"2023-07-30T21:23:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/new-housing-minister-says-closing-door-on-newcomers-is-no-solution-to-housing-crunch\/"},"modified":"2023-07-30T14:23:14","modified_gmt":"2023-07-30T21:23:14","slug":"new-housing-minister-says-closing-door-on-newcomers-is-no-solution-to-housing-crunch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/new-housing-minister-says-closing-door-on-newcomers-is-no-solution-to-housing-crunch\/","title":{"rendered":"New housing minister says closing door on newcomers is no solution to housing crunch"},"content":{"rendered":"

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OTTAWA \u2014 Canada\u2019s new housing and infrastructure minister says closing the door to newcomers is not the solution to the country\u2019s housing woes, and has instead endorsed building more homes to accommodate higher immigration flows.<\/p>\n

Sean Fraser, who previously served as immigration minister, was sworn in recently as part of a Liberal government cabinet shuffle aimed at showcasing a fresh team ahead of the next federal election.<\/p>\n

He comes into the role at a time when strong population growth through immigration is adding pressure to housing demand at a time when the country is struggling with an affordability crisis.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe answer is, at least in part, to continue to build more stock,\u201d Fraser told reporters after being sworn in.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I would urge caution to anyone who believes the answer to our housing challenges is to close the door on newcomers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Instead, the minister said immigration would be part of the solution to the housing challenge.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I talked to developers, in my capacity as a minister of immigration before today, one of the chief obstacles to completing the projects that they want to get done is having access to the labour force to build the houses that they need,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Prime Minister JustinTrudeau\u2019s decision to hand over the federal housing file to the Nova Scotia MP has been praised by experts who say the Liberals need a strong communicator in charge as Canadians deal with an affordability crunch.<\/p>\n

As part of the shakeup, the housing file has been merged with infrastructure and communities. Fraser said the goal is to look at housing and infrastructure projects together, rather than in isolation.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we encourage cities and communities to build more housing where infrastructure already exists or where it\u2019s planned to be, we\u2019re going to be able to leverage more progress for every public dollar that\u2019s invested,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Ahmed Hussen, who became housing minister in 2021, has faced criticism for his handling of the file as the housing crisis worsened across the country.<\/p>\n

Hussen is staying in cabinet as minister of international development.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe selection of Sean, I think, is a recognition that the job requires fundamentally an energy and urgency and a passion in order to be able to effectively compete with the message that (Conservative Leader) Pierre Poilievre has put forward,\u201d said Tyler Meredith, a former head of economic strategy and planning for Trudeau\u2019s government.<\/p>\n

Meredith said the choice to shift Fraser from immigration to housing also signals the federal government knows the two files are linked.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf they lose the argument on housing, they will lose the argument on immigration, and they will then lose what is frankly, some of the some of the most effective pieces of their economic strategy,\u201d Meredith said.<\/p>\n

Canada\u2019s population grew by more than one million people in 2022, a pace that experts say is adding pressure to housing demand. That, in turn, pushes up prices even further.<\/p>\n

A recent analysis by BMO found that for every one per cent of population growth, housing prices typically increase by three per cent.<\/p>\n

The Liberals have been taking a lot of heat from Poilievre for the state of the housing market. He\u2019s blamed Trudeau\u2019s government for the crisis, as well as municipal \u201cgatekeepers\u201d for standing in the way of\u00a0new\u00a0developments.<\/p>\n

Poilievre has focused on the need to build more housing and has not weighed in on whether Canada needs to change the number of people it lets into the country.<\/p>\n

The Conservative leader has also been particularly focused on speaking to young people struggling with affordability, commonly referring to the \u201c35-year-olds still living in their parents\u2019 basements\u201d in the House of Commons.<\/p>\n

Fraser, 39, acknowledged during the news conference that housing affordability is a major challenge facing younger Canadians in particular.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a real challenge for people my age and younger who are trying to get into the market, but it\u2019s also a challenge for low-income families,\u201d Fraser said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no simple solutions, but if we continue to advance measures that help build more stock, that help make sure it\u2019s easier for people to get into the market and make sure we\u2019re offering protections for low-income families, particularly in vulnerable renting situations, we\u2019re going to be able to make a meaningful difference.\u201d<\/p>\n

The housing crisis that once was associated with Vancouver and Toronto is now affecting all corners of the country, and experts say a shortage of homes is at its root.<\/p>\n

The Canada Mortgage Housing Corporation has warned the country needs to build 3.5 million additional homes \u2014 on top of the current pace of building \u2014 to restore affordability by 2030.<\/p>\n

Carolyn Whitzman, a housing policy expert and adjunct professor at the University of Ottawa, said the decision to combine housing and infrastructure is a good move.<\/p>\n

\u201cHousing is infrastructure. It\u2019s essential, as essential as water and sewers and hospitals and schools, for the functioning of a society,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Whitzman also called Fraser a \u201cfairly effective communicator\u201d and noted his experience as immigration minister may also help inform his role in the housing file.<\/p>\n

\u00a9 2023 The Canadian Press<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n