Achi news desk-
The federal government will launch a $1.5 billion “Canada Rental Protection Fund” to keep rental prices affordable across the country, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Thursday.
The fund is the latest promise from the federal Liberals, who are more than a week away from announcing preview spending to be included in the 2024 federal budget, including a series of affordable housing loan programs and rule reforms focused on fairness for renters. .
So far, the Liberals have earmarked $25 billion in new spending and borrowing. When asked to clarify what one of his ministers could not do last night, the Prime Minister said that “there are no plans to raise taxes on the middle class” to finance these budgetary obligations.
“We are going to continue to put fiscal responsibility at the heart of what we do, even as we guarantee fairness to every generation.”
The prime minister would not offer details of what the interest rate would be on these various loan proposals, or the repayment deadlines, saying that it would be revealed on budget day.
“It’s all about making the math work,” he said.
What will a rental fund do?
According to the government, the fund will provide $1 billion in loans and $470 million in donations to nonprofits, community housing providers and other partners to help purchase affordable rental buildings that go up for sale.
“We need more affordable housing buildings just like this, all over the country,” Trudeau said, speaking at an affordable housing complex in Winnipeg.
“Unfortunately, too many of these places are under constant threat of being demolished to build apartments, or to be sold to speculators and big corporations who will raise the rents in a cycle. People are being priced out of their communities, and that’s wrong so we need help.”
The Liberals are framing this fund as a step toward keeping rents in check to ensure long-term affordability for lower-income renters.
“Led and co-funded by the federal government and other partners, the fund will mobilize investment and funding from the philanthropic and private sectors to protect and grow affordable housing in Canada,” said a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) accompanying Trudeau’s announcement.
Housing Minister Sean Fraser, who spoke alongside Trudeau, said that over the past decade Canada has lost hundreds of thousands of affordable housing units, some as a result of buildings being demolished after they were not properly maintained, while others were bought by owners who renovated and “cut out” to raise rents, pricing out tenants.
“Here in Canada, less than four percent of our housing stock is actually owned by non-profits or governments outside of the market. By comparison, advanced economies around the world average about eight percent,” Fraser said.
“We have a moral obligation to make sure that everyone in this country has a roof over their heads, and that they have a safe and affordable place to call home.”
The response of the rental fund
In an attempt to put Trudeau’s latest announcement in context, Conservative Deputy Leader Melissa Lanzman pointed to new data from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC) forecast that home prices may match the peak levels seen in early 2022 through 2026, while housing starts are expected to decline this year.
“The CMHC has confirmed that it is only making things worse with fewer housing starts, less affordable housing and higher rents,” Lantzman said. “Trudeau’s photo ops will come nowhere close to building the millions of homes needed,” the statement continued.
NDP MP and housing auditor Jenny Cowan called the latest pre-budget promise “long overdue” but a step that “falls short of what is needed to stop the loss of existing affordable rental units.”
“Affordable housing is being lost 11 times faster than it is being built due to uncontrolled rent increases across Canada,” Cowan said.
Between 2016 and 2021, Canada lost 370,000 homes that rented for less than $1,000 a month.
The Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) said it welcomes the idea of ​​an Affordable Rental Protection Fund, noting that it “represents a substantial response to FCM’s calls ahead of Budget 2024 for a National Housing Purchase Fund to protect affordable housing in Canada, prevent people from falling into homelessness and protect They rent from ‘renovation’ methods.”
However, the organization noted in its announcement that the commitment requires further analysis of the details, as they are revealed, including ensuring existing city-led home purchase initiatives are eligible to take advantage of this new funding.
