Housing Minister Sean Fraser has reacted to a news report saying his government was warned internally two years ago that high immigration levels would impact housing affordability.
“I don’t think anybody needs a briefing note to understand that having more people in the housing market impacts the housing market,” Mr. Fraser said during a press conference in Halifax on Jan. 15.
Mr. Fraser defended the targets, saying they apply to the number of permanent residents being admitted, some of which already live here. He says the major impact is rather coming from temporary residents, such as foreign workers and international students.
“I don’t want to suggest that there are not challenges with the rapidity of population growth, but they’re largely being driven by programs where the government doesn’t set a target or cap, but they’re driven by demand,” he said.
The minister accused unspecified educational institutions of being established for the sole purpose of financially exploiting the international students program.
Mr. Fraser gave the remarks after a meeting with Atlantic provincial ministers responsible for housing. He noted how previous concerns in the region related to young people departing to settle elsewhere, leading to economic decline, but in recent years the challenge has flipped to one of adjusting to rapid population growth.
“I can tell you as a representative of communities in Nova Scotia, the challenges associated with growth are ones I would prefer over to losing schools and hospital services, seven days a week,” he said.
Housing Crisis
Canadians have been facing a multi-faceted housing crisis in recent years, with experts warning that Canada’s strong population growth is eroding housing affordability, as demand outpaces supply.Factors contributing to the “looming crisis” include population growth and increased urbanization, says the CMHC.
The Liberal government has focused more on housing after its summer cabinet retreat, with weekly announcements.
Liberals have set high immigration targets, planning to welcome around 500,000 new permanent residents each year over the next three years, but they’re now looking at taking some measures to mitigate societal impacts.
Immigration Minister Marc Miller told CTV News over the weekend he would consider putting a cap on international students, calling the current volume “disconcerting.”
Tying Housing and Immigration
The Tories have been vocal on the housing issue, blaming the Liberal government for the crisis, and their policy solutions have only focused on the supply-side.In a Jan. 15 statement on the rise of rental costs, the Conservative Party wrote that the “only solution to this affordable housing crisis is for the Liberal Government to build more homes.”
But Tory Leader Pierre Poilievre did mention immigration in the context of The Canadian Press’ reports.
Speaking to reporters on Jan. 12, Mr. Poilievre said that Conservatives would “get back to an approach of immigration that invites a number of people that we can house, employ, and care for in our health care system.”
Mr. Fraser said he agrees with the idea proposed by the Tory leader. “Is the idea of tying the number of people who come to Canada to the number of homes available a good one? Yes,” he said during the press conference.
“It’s one of the factors that we’ve considered over the past number of years, but we need to recognize that we have to bring other players to the table, not just our provincial counterparts, but the institutions who are dramatically increasing the number of study permits they request, sometimes at the personal financial gain of the people behind some of those private colleges.”
