Deputy Prime Minister highlights major affordable housing project delivered by the federal government’s economic plan

From: Department of Finance Canada

News release

November 30, 2023 - Vancouver, British Columbia - Department of Finance Canada

Today in Vancouver, the Honourable Chrystia Freeland, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, visited 58 West Hastings, which in May 2024 will begin welcoming its first residents into 231 new affordable rental homes for vulnerable people and low-income families. As first announced by the Deputy Prime Minister on July 28, 2021, this project was made possible in part by $45.8 million in federal funding from the Affordable Housing Fund—a key part of the government’s economic plan to build more homes, faster.

58 West Hastings is a 10-storey building in Vancouver’s Chinatown, which provides a mix of rental homes for people experiencing or at risk of homelessness, as well as low-income families. Rents at 58 West Hastings will be affordable, averaging $563 per month. When complete, the project will also be home to the Lily Lee Community Health Centre, an approximately 50,000 square foot integrated health facility to be operated by Vancouver Coastal Health.

As the next phase of the federal government’s economic plan, the 2023 Fall Economic Statement takes further action to build more homes, faster, and make housing more affordable for Canadians.

This includes an additional $1 billion top-up to the Affordable Housing Fund, which will support non-profit, co-op, and public housing providers to build more than 7,000 new homes by 2028 through projects like 58 West Hastings, as well as a $15 billion top-up to the Apartment Construction Loan Program, which will support the construction of more than 30,000 additional new homes across Canada. In the Fall Economic Statement, the federal government is also taking steps to crack down on short-term rentals listed on sites like Airbnb, in order to help ensure homes are used for Canadians to live in.

The government is also supporting Canadians who are renewing their mortgages at a time of higher interest rates. The Canadian Mortgage Charter, as outlined in the Fall Economic Statement, highlights the tailored mortgage relief that the government expects banks to provide to borrowers who are facing financial difficulty with the mortgage on their principal residence. 

Quotes

“Our economic plan is about building a strong economy that works for everyone, and this Fall Economic Statement is the next step in our plan. With a focus on supporting the middle class and building more homes, faster, we are taking action on the priorities that matter most to Canadians today—and we will continue doing everything we can to deliver for Canadians from coast to coast to coast.”

- The Honourable Chrystia Freeland, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance

Quick facts

  • Canada’s economic plan is working:

    • Over a million more Canadians are employed today compared to before the pandemic. Canada’s unemployment rate, for the last 21 months, has been lower than at any time under the previous government.
    • Wages have outpaced inflation for the past nine months.
    • The International Monetary Fund projects Canada to see the strongest economic growth in the G7 next year.
    • According to the OECD, in the first half of this year, Canada received the third-most foreign direct investment of any country in the world—and the highest per capita in the G7.

  • Since 2015, the average annual federal housing investment has more than doubled compared to the previous government. This year, federal investment in housing is $9 billion higher than it was in 2013-14.

  • The Affordable Housing Fund, previously known as the National Housing Co-Investment Fund, delivers low-cost financing and forgivable loans that enable non-profit, co-op, and public housing providers to build more affordable housing. To qualify, housing providers must partner with an order of government to ensure coordination of investments.

  • The Apartment Construction Loan Program, previously known as the Rental Construction Financing Initiative, delivers low-cost financing that helps make the math work for builders to enable more purpose-built rental projects to move ahead.

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Contacts

Media may contact:

 

Katherine Cuplinskas
Press Secretary and Senior Communications Advisor
Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance
Katherine.Cuplinskas@fin.gc.ca

Media Relations
Department of Finance Canada
mediare@fin.gc.ca
613-369-4000

General enquiries:

Phone: 1-833-712-2292
TTY: 613-369-3230
E-mail: financepublic-financepublique@fin.gc.ca

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