More than a dozen Conservative members have written to the federal government on behalf of their communities, asking them to receive funding through the Housing Acceleration Fund. The fund is a program that Conservative leader Pierre Poièvre has vowed to cut.
Mr Poièvre’s office released the names of 17 Conservative MPs on Tuesday after Housing Minister Sean Fraser announced that around a dozen MPs had written to him in recent months.
Mr Poièvre’s office also said Conservative MPs would no longer support local authorities seeking funding through the fund.
The Housing Acceleration Fund is a $4.4 billion program that provides funding to towns and cities that are committed to cutting red tape to build more housing.
A spokesperson for Fraser’s office said 177 agreements have been signed between the federal government and local governments, and more than $1 billion has been distributed to communities through the fund.
Poièvre said he would cut the system, which he called bureaucratic, to partially fund the removal of GST from new home sales under $1 million.
His office pointed to federal documents showing it has cost $80.9 million to administer the Housing Promotion Fund since 2017, which is slightly more than the City of Halifax recently received. It is.
According to Poièvre’s office, the Conservative MPs who wrote the letter calling for local funding are:
Dan Albus (Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola)
John Barlow (Foothills)
Michael Barrett (Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes)
Kelly Block (Carleton Trail – Eagle Creek)
Frank Caputo (Kamloops—Thompson—Caribou)
Adam Chambers (Simcoe North)
Michael Cooper (St. Albert—Edmonton)
Branden Leslie (Portage—Lisgar)
Rob Moore (Fundy Royal)
John Nater (Perth Wellington)
Rick Perkins (South Shore—St. Margaret’s)
Blake Richards (Banff Airdrie)
Leanne Rood (Lambton, Kent, Middlesex)
Gerald Soroka (Yellowhead)
Karen Vecchio (Elgin—Middlesex—London)
Ryan Williams (Gulf of Quinte)
John Williamson (southwest New Brunswick)
A spokeswoman for Fraser said other Conservative MPs, including Newfoundland MP Clifford Small, had requested funding. He did not name the other members.
Mayor criticizes Conservative Party’s decision as ‘irresponsible’
The mayor of a small New Brunswick town says he’s disappointed that local Conservative MPs will no longer advocate on behalf of communities seeking funding through the Housing Accelerator Fund.
Alan Brown is the first mayor of Butternut Valley, No. 1, a municipality located approximately 100 kilometers east of Fredericton.
Brown said Butternut Valley has applied for a second round of funding through the fund and expects to receive between $1 million and $2 million to build a sewer system and municipal water supply.
A new sewer system will allow the town to build multiple-family housing complexes, Brown said. With a population of approximately 5,600, the municipality was only incorporated in 2023.
“We’re new,” Brown said. “There’s nothing. There’s no infrastructure at all. It’s impossible to take on that kind of debt in the first place.”
Local councilor Rob Moore, Conservative, sent a letter in January expressing support for the council’s application.
Mr Brown said he was disappointed to hear that Conservative MPs were withdrawing their support.
“I think that’s irresponsible,” he said. “Ethically, and by virtue of being in this position, I have a responsibility to advocate for my constituents’ campaigns. It doesn’t matter what it is.
“I’m really disappointed.”
Mr Brown said he would be happy to apply to the federal Conservative program if there was a change in government.
Defense Minister Bill Blair puts local governments in legal and financial jeopardy after Conservative Leader Pierre Poièvre pledges to scrap two key Liberal programs, the Housing Promotion Fund and the Housing Infrastructure Fund. He said it was possible.
Premier Fraser’s office confirmed that since Mr Poièvre announced last week that the fund would be scrapped, the federal government had written to warn more than 100 municipalities that had already entered into agreements to secure funding.
On Tuesday, some Liberal MPs and ministers told reporters that the Housing Accelerator Fund would help build more than 250,000 homes in the Toronto-Hamilton metropolitan area.
Defense Minister Bill Blair, who represents Toronto-area MPs, warned that if Mr. Poilievre cuts the program, municipalities with ongoing financial agreements could be left in the lurch.
“He has promised to break agreements with local governments, which could put them in serious legal jeopardy in the future,” he told reporters.
