A new 15-minute video produced by Conservative leader Pierre Poièvre is the latest salvo in the political battle over housing policy that has dominated politics for the second half of this year.
Poiivre made housing costs and affordability a key part of his message early in his tenure as leader, and housing is now an issue that parties across the political spectrum agree is a crisis facing Canadians. ing.
The Conservative leader’s video features statistics, graphs and news articles that paint the housing crisis as another of Trudeau’s government’s own creations.
“Like other countries, Canada has always faced challenges throughout its history, but most people who got a job were able to save enough money to buy a home by their mid-20s. “About eight years ago,” Poilievre said. in the video.
Housing costs have been rising in Canada in recent years. National average house price Canadians are also facing increased rental costs as well as mortgage costs due to rising interest rates.
The government agrees that the situation is dire.
“One of the things that I think is important to address from the top is that we are in a housing crisis and we need to build homes and we need to build millions of homes,” Housing Minister Sean Fraser said in an announcement in Richmond. It means we need to build it in units.” Hill, Ont., earlier this week.
featured videosSome Canadian housing advocates say Ottawa needs to move faster to raise newly promised funding to spur much-needed construction. The government pledged $16 billion for rental and social housing in Tuesday’s autumn financial report, but funding won’t start until at least 2025.
Eddie Sheppard, vice president of Abacus Data, said a recent poll conducted by his company shows that housing is now the second-highest priority for Canadians, behind the economy and cost of living. He said it is right above medical care. And the Conservatives have an advantage on this issue, Shepherd said.
“Currently, about a third of Canadians think: [the Conservatives] “The housing crisis will be best addressed by the NDP, followed by the Liberals,” he said.
“It really shows that the Conservative Party is in the driver’s seat in the minds of Canadians when it comes to who can best deal with the housing crisis.”
The Conservatives also maintain a strong 19 percentage point lead in top-line polls. New Abacus Data poll suggests:. This is the Conservative Party’s largest lead since 2015, the pollster said.
Poièvre’s message focuses on affordability, pointing to concerns about rising housing costs, inflation and other costs of living. He recently called the current situation “a living hell for the working class.”

Housing-related announcements are coming one after another.
The government has responded in recent months with several housing policies, including the removal of GST/HST on rental housing construction and dedicated funding to stimulate construction. Housing Minister Fraser has been negotiating with local governments to encourage more proactive local action in exchange for federal funding through the Housing Acceleration Fund.
Last week also saw several housing announcements attended by prominent ministers, including Prime Minister Fraser, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
“Right now we’re facing a housing shortage. That’s a big reason why prices are so high. That’s why we need to build more housing, faster. ” he said.
featured videosFinance Minister Chrystia Freeland said the federal government’s focus on housing is “supply, supply, supply.”
The government also recently announced the Canada Mortgage Charter as part of its efforts to help hundreds of thousands of Canadians with mortgages that may soon need to be renewed at higher interest rates.
Prime Minister Trudeau this week criticized Poièvre’s plan as an “empty slogan.”
“He thinks that if he bullies local governments or cuts funding for affordable housing, somehow more will be dug into the ground. Well, that’s what responsible leadership is. “I think we can all agree that it’s not,” he said.
Shepherd said despite the government’s efforts over the past few months, the message doesn’t seem to be getting through to Canadians.
“But I think the challenge is that a lot of Canadians are really ignoring these things.” [announcements] You don’t necessarily have to hear or see them,” Shepard said.