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Federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has proposed an acquisition fund to address the nation’s rental crisis and said short-term rentals like Airbnb are part of the ongoing issue.
At a news conference Monday afternoon in Edmonton, Singh offered three solutions the NDP would implement. A housing acquisition fund would allow municipalities and other organizations to purchase affordable buildings, incentivizing building homes that are affordable by waiving the GST/HST for buildings or projects and by building non-market housing.
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“If all the properties are scooped up by foreign investors, we need to be serious about this and that’s the approach we’re taking to ensure that we can buy buildings that are affordable and keep them in the hands of the community,” said Singh.
Singh blasted the federal government Monday and said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had eight years in office to tackle the housing crisis but has instead pointed fingers at other jurisdictions. In his opening remarks he said the Conservative party is not much better, saying they would be “putting more money in the pockets of rich developers but not actually tackling the problem.”
According to the latest National Rent Report by Rentals.ca and Urbanation, Edmonton is ranked 31 on a list of 35 cities in terms of monthly average rent. In 2023 the average monthly rent in Edmonton in July for a one-bedroom was up 12.8 per cent and up 11.5 per cent for a two-bedroom from previous years.
In Canada, British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario and Prince Edward Island are the only provinces that have rent control, which is said to have helped with the affordability issue. Provinces such as Alberta do not have rent control, which has put a strain on some families, specifically those who rely on social services like Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped, he said.
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When asked if a rent cap across the country is something his party is interested in implementing, Singh said it is something they can “absolutely look at.” But said it is not a solution on its own.
“It’s something that some provinces put in place and it has worked in some places to keep rent affordable. We need to build more homes rapidly and we need to build more homes that are not in the market, so not-for-profit cooperative community based,” said Singh.
When it comes to short-term rentals, Singh said companies like Airbnb are “part of the problem.” He said that a short-term rental could have been a long-term home for someone, but reiterated that with the housing crisis there are a myriad of issues to address. He said a comprehensive approach needs to happen.
“The people that I spoke with in this room just earlier, they don’t care whose responsibility it is, pointing fingers and blaming the province. And maybe the province isn’t doing enough, for sure, but blaming people is not going to actually build more homes,” said Singh.
“The problem in Canada is much worse than other places in the world.”
ctran@postmedia.com
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