NORTH BAY, ONT. <\/span>\u2014 <\/span>The leaders of Ontario\u2019s New Democratic, Liberal and Green parties went on the offensive against Progressive Conservative Leader Doug Ford\u2019s record on housing in the first debate of the provincial election campaign.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The topic has been little discussed in the first half of the snap campaign, but the three party leaders saw an opportunity during the debate held specifically to discuss northern issues to press Ford on not meeting his own targets to build housing across the province.\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWhere are the homes that Doug Ford said he was going to build?\u201d NDP Leader Marit Stiles said.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWhere are the homes, Doug? Because they\u2019re not in our communities. They\u2019re not in northern communities. They\u2019re not anywhere in Ontario right now. He has not done a dang thing about it. That is the truth.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Ontario\u2019s housing starts were down 16 per cent in 2024 compared to the previous year, and the province has not met any of its interim targets toward building 1.5 million homes since Ford promised that in the 2022 election.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Last year\u2019s target was 125,000 homes, but Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. data show there were just over 72,000 housing starts in 2024 in Ontario. Government officials previously said that even though interest rates have been coming down, it takes a while for that decrease to have an impact, and they still expect to meet the 1.5 million homes target.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner said housing starts are low while housing prices are high in part because Ford has the wrong priorities.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cMost of the government\u2019s housing plans have been: how do we unlock profits for wealthy land speculators, instead of how do we unlock affordable homes that people can afford,\u201d Schreiner said.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe result of their housing record is we have a whole generation of young people wondering if they\u2019ll ever be able to afford a home.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n When Ford was asked to talk about housing, he said his government had cut red tape and regulations and removed HST from purpose-built rental housing. But he spent most of his time criticizing the others\u2019 housing records and plans.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n He slammed Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie\u2019s record as mayor of Mississauga, Ont., but she disputed his statements.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cPremier, you know, you talk a good tale and you sound kind of folksy and charming, but none of what you\u2019re saying is actually true,\u201d she said.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cYou told us seven years ago you would end hallway health care. It\u2019s gotten twice as bad. You said you\u2019d cut our taxes, but you didn\u2019t do that either. You didn\u2019t get it done, and you said you\u2019d build 1.5 million homes.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n When the moderator turned to Ford to allow him to defend his housing record, he immediately began talking about the fight against possible tariffs from the United States, which he has spoken about frequently on the provincial election campaign \u2014 prompting Stiles to exclaim, \u201cOh my gosh.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The reference to U.S. President Donald Trump also prompted Stiles to accuse Ford of saying one thing in public and another in private, noting a video that recently caught Ford saying he had hoped Trump would win the election.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cYou have shown us who you are,\u201d Stiles said. \u201cYou say one thing in front of the public, like this, and you go to say another thing behind closed doors.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Stiles noted the Greenbelt scandal as another example, as Ford had promised not to touch it before he opened it up for development. Ford\u2019s government is under RCMP criminal investigation for its now-reversed decision to open up the protected lands to build 50,000 homes, a decision the auditor general said would have seen a few developers stand to benefit to the tune of $8.3 billion.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a92025 The Canadian Press<\/strong><\/p>\n![\"-\"](\"https:\/\/cc-production-uploads-bucket.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2025\/02\/600X350_New.png\")
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