Trudeau offers $6 billion to provinces to build housing

By Barry Ellsworth

TRENTON, Canada (AA) - Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau came knocking on provincial doors Tuesday with billions of dollars to ease the country’s housing crisis.

"We're taking the challenge of building more homes, faster, in this country head-on … This is how we'll address the shortage of housing options for Canadians," Trudeau said in the province of Nova Scotia. "This is how we will make it fairer for younger generations who feel like they are falling behind because housing costs are too high."

But to get a piece of the CAN$6 billion (US$4.42 billion) purse, the 10 provinces and three territories will have to promise to meet certain conditions, including construction of multiplex townhouses and multiplex apartments such as four-plex units.

Ontario has Canada’s most densely populated area -- about 8 million packed in and around Toronto and along Lake Ontario -- and it already said no to federal build money if four-plexes were part of the deal. Some local city governments do not want those units.

"It's off the table for us," Ontario Premier Doug Ford said last month. "We're going to build homes, single-dwelling homes, townhomes, that's what we're focused on."

About 1 billion of the new money announced by Trudeau will be targeted at new and upgraded water supplies, wastewater and stormwater and solid waste disposal. The infrastructure is necessary to start building housing, said cities.

Other terms tied to the funding include promises to freeze local government building fees in cities with populations of more than 300,000, federally-mandated guarantees for home purchasers and renters, and the adoption of new federal guidelines for more accessible, affordable and so-called “climate friendly” housing.​​​​​​​

Trudeau’s announcement comes one week after provincial and territorial leaders sent a letter to the prime minister, demanding more money for housing.