Federal government looks to provinces for billions to support housing plan
Bill Curry and Jeff Gray
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau released a $40-billion national housing program on Wednesday, but the plan counts on the provinces to contribute billions and key elements won’t begin until after the next federal election.
The 10-year program assumes the provinces will be willing to match federal spending plans in some areas, meaning further negotiations will be needed before the details are worked out. Quebec in particular says it wants to hammer out its own agreement with Ottawa.
The main new initiative announced on Wednesday is a $4-billion Canada Housing Benefit, which would provide rent support for about 300,000 low-income households and would begin in 2020. Ottawa expects the provinces to cover half of the cost.
Ottawa is also responding to one of the most pressing concerns raised by Canada’s cities, offering $4.8-billion to address the fact that many long-standing social-housing agreements with Ottawa were scheduled to expire over the coming years.
Standing in front a construction site where work is under way on a new mixed-income redevelopment of the Lawrence Heights public-housing complex in northwest Toronto, the Prime Minister said he was confident the provinces would endorse and help pay for what he called his “once-in-a-generation” housing plan.
“What we have heard from our provincial partners here in Ontario and across the country, our municipal partners, is a level of excitement and a level of commitment to getting this done,” Mr. Trudeau told reporters.
But even Ontario Housing Minister Peter Milczyn, who was invited to the same podium to praise Mr. Trudeau’s announcement, would not firmly commit to new spending on Wednesday.
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