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Housing

Question period exchanges on housing affordability and home construction. Conservatives, led by Pierre Poilievre, said homebuilding is down 6% and the government’s housing agency expects a further 18% drop, that housing costs have risen faster than in other rich countries, and asked the Prime Minister to take responsibility and stop getting in the way of builders, arguing that carpenters, plumbers and electricians build homes, not politicians. Liberal members pointed to a new housing agreement with British Columbia and other provinces, said housing starts, sales and completions are up and rents are down, cited the removal of the GST for first-time buyers on homes under $1 million, and noted $6 billion for skilled trades; one Liberal also said Poilievre built only six affordable housing units when he was the minister responsible for the CMHC.Written by AI from the debate. Updated .

Official text

5 statements

Steven MacKinnon

Liberal
“We are making new housing deals with provinces, including British Columbia. We are building more homes, bringing rents down, and removing the GST for first-time buyers on homes under $1 million.”

  • Government answer in Question Period

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Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, the member mentions housing, and what I want to say is congratulations to the Minister of Housing and Infrastructure, who will be announcing today in British Columbia, with the Prime Minister, a historic agreement with the Government of British Columbia. That follows agreements with provinces across this country. We are going to keep building homes. Rents are coming down. Housing has become more affordable. We have taken the GST off homes for first-time homebuyers, for homes under $1 million. We are just getting started. We are going to have a revolution in housing.

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Jennifer McKelvie

Liberal
“I want to thank our partners in housing. More homes are being built and sold, and rents are down.”

  • Government answer in Question Period

    Signal 32 of 100

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Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, I want to start by thanking all our partners in housing, the municipalities, provinces, indigenous communities, planners, builders and everybody else who is working together, because the trends are indeed moving in the right direction. Housing starts are up, housing sales are up, and rents are down. Things are moving in the right direction, thanks to everybody who is working hard together for Canada.

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Steven MacKinnon

Liberal
“The member only built six affordable homes when he was minister. Our government is going to build hundreds of thousands of homes for young Canadians, cut the GST, and put people to work.”

  • Government answer in Question Period

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Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, it is interesting that the number six just came up, because when that member was the minister responsible for the CMHC, do members know how many units of affordable housing he built during his entire tenure? One, two, three, four, five, six units of housing were built under this person’s tenure. We are going to build hundreds of thousands of homes for young Canadians. We are going to give them a reduction in GST. We are going to put builders to work. We are going to put housing in every place in this country.

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John Zerucelli

Liberal
“Our government is spending $6 billion to support skilled trades workers across the country. They build homes, roads, bridges, and hospitals. The Conservatives should support these workers too.”

  • Government answer in Question Period

    Relevance 33 of 100

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  • Government answer in Question Period

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Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, I have a news flash for the hon. member. Who builds houses? The building trades build houses. Who is supporting the building trades? It is the current government, with $6 billion in skilled trades to build right across this country. We are building bridges, roads and hospitals right across this country. We are going to stand up for our workers every single day. When will the Conservatives get on board?

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Jennifer McKelvie

Liberal
“More homes are being built, finished, and sold this year. Our tax cuts for home buyers and builders are working.”

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Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, there is some good news. I would like to point out that housing starts are 3% higher than in the same period last year. Completions have increased by 10%, meaning more homes are being finished. We are seeing growth in places like B.C., Ontario and Montreal. New construction is up by about 18%. We also know that sales are up as well and that the measures we put in place, such as the first-time homebuyers GST reductions and the HST reductions that are happening in Ontario, are working.

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