Pierre Poilievre hopes that the cost of a $4.8 million house will be enough to convince the voting public to become a member of the Conservative Party of Canada.
The would-be Tory leader, widely considered a front-runner, promises to “reduce red tape” and pressure councils to approve housing more quickly if he is chosen to lead the Tories to victory in the next federal election.
In a video shared on Twitter Monday, Poilievre used the nearly $5 million home in Vancouver to highlight various challenges in the city’s housing market. He said the lot could be divided into six houses, but would cost the consumer $1 million each due to construction and land costs.
“Who can afford a $950,000 mortgage? Forget property taxes and utilities,” Poilievre asked in the video. “Why does Vancouver have the third most unaffordable real estate market on planet Earth?”
The leader candidate, a veteran MP from Carleton in the Ottawa area, proceeded to answer his own question. He blamed Ottawa for “printing more than $400 billion in new cash” and government “gatekeepers” who “protect the rich” with laws and statutes that result in exorbitant costs for the average consumer.
Citing a CD Howe Institute study, Poilievre said the “government cost” for each housing unit in Vancouver is $644,000, which includes permits, zoning and consultant fees that the public must pay.
The CD Howe Institute does not characterize the $644,000 as a government cost, but instead states that Vancouver has the highest construction costs in Canada“resulting in an extra cost of $644,000 for the average new home.”
Read more:
Patrick Brown is juggling mayoral duties with the Conservative leadership bid
In the video, Poilievre suggested that one of the solutions to the homeownership affordability crisis is to require municipalities to speed up approvals and cut costs.
Get rid of the goalkeepers. Stop blocking the poor, the working class and immigrants from the dream of having a home of their own in this country,” he said. “Shouldn’t our working class be better off now than it was 40 years ago?”
As Poilievre’s video racked up more than 200,000 views, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau toured British Columbia to promote green investments in the federal budget last week.
Asked about the affordability of housing in an advertisement in Victoria, Trudeau replied: “Anyone who suggests an easy political solution is promoting something that is not true.”
His government has introduced a series of changes aimed at improving the odds for would-be homeowners, including an influx of cash to speed up construction, a two-year ban on foreign ownership and tax-free savings accounts of up to $40,000 for the first time. buyers
“One of the challenges has been that population growth has not been matched by an increase in housing supply,” Trudeau said.
Read more:
Federal housing money not expected to make much of a difference in overheated BC market
UBC Sauder School of Business professor Tom Davidoff says the federal government should focus on the zoning system and push for zoning changes to be approved more quickly.
However, Davidoff applauded both liberals and conservatives for focusing on home approvals.
“Twenty or 30 years ago, it would be weird to hear the federal government pressuring municipalities for approvals. I think it’s encouraging,” he told Global News.
© 2022 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
Reference-globalnews.ca