Remarks by the Deputy Prime Minister on new measures to build more housing, faster, in Toronto

We’ll keep working—day after day, week after week, month after month, and year after year—to build the homes that Torontonians—and all Canadians—need, expect, and deserve.

Toronto, Ontario – November 23, 2023

Good afternoon.

I would like to start by acknowledging that we are gathered on the traditional territories of many nations, including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishinaabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat Peoples.

I’m so glad to be back home in Toronto—and to be here in East York today to share m

Last week, I was at Yonge and Eglinton, standing in front of the construction workers who are building nearly 2,700 new rental homes across Toronto through our Apartment Construction Loan Program.

And today, we are standing in front of 484 new rental homes that Toronto families will soon be able to move into.

People are going to start moving in in February. And 108 of these apartments, or 30 per cent, will have below market rent.

These new homes will be located in the heart of our communities. There’s going to be a dog park and a swimming pool. They will be very close to public transit, close to public schools, and for young people, for young families looking for a place to call home, parents looking for somewhere to raise their kids, and seniors who are in search of a new home to live out their retirement, this is a great community.

These are going to be wonderful places for people to rent and make great lives in.

This project is just a short walk from the Main Street subway station, and steps away from the Secord Public School and the Secord Community Centre.

This is exactly the kind of housing that Toronto needs the most. It is the kind of housing that cities across Canada really need.

And that’s why we are working together with municipalities, with provinces, with private sector builders like the people here, and with not-for-profits, to build even more rental housing from coast to coast to coast.

I would just like to take a minute to acknowledge the construction workers we see here.

It is the skilled tradespeople whose hands and whose brains build the homes we need, and I’m really grateful to you, and Canada is grateful to you. So, thank you very much.

On Tuesday, I tabled the Fall Economic Statement for 2023. This was the newest phase in our government’s economic plan. A plan which is focused on continuing to support the Canadian middle class and on building more homes, faster.

Building on the significant action we have already taken through our economic plan—including this fall alone—I announced this week new measures to build thousands upon thousands upon thousands of new homes across the country—and to build them faster.

We are unlocking billions of dollars in new financing—money that will go towards supporting the construction of new homes—just like the beautiful apartments behind me—for Canadians.

And that includes $15 billion in additional, low-cost financing through the Apartment Construction Loan Program, which will support projects just like the one we are at today. In fact, it is supporting this one.

The program started in 2017, and before the Fall Economic Statement, $25 billion in low-cost financing in total had been put into that program, to be available exactly for projects like this one.

Now the good news is, up until the day of the Fall Economic Statement, so Tuesday morning, a little more than $17 billion of that financing had been used, financing this project, and many of the great projects across the country.

So, there was just $8 billion left, and we know Canadians need more than $8 billion worth of new homes.

And that’s why on Tuesday morning, I was so pleased to top up this essential program with another $15 billion in financing.

Last Tuesday, when I was just north of Yonge and Eglinton, the builders there said to me: “This Apartment Construction Loan Program has made our project possible, and we want to build more, but we’re worried the money is running out.”

I wanted to say to them then—don’t worry! I am going to announce in a week some more money to top up the program.

And when I had a chance to tour these apartments and talk to the people who are building them, they told me that they want to build more than 400 additional apartments in this area, and that they would like to apply to the Apartment Construction Loan Program to finance those apartments.

So, the good news is there’s going to be another $15 billion in the program waiting for you guys to get building. No pressure.

On Tuesday, we also introduced a new Canadian Mortgage Charter.

The Canadian Mortgage Charter details the tailored mortgage relief that Canadians at risk can expect from their banks if they are in financial difficulty.

Because our goal is to help Canadians through a really challenging time—by making sure Canadians at risk have the support they need to afford their mortgages and keep their homes when renewing at a time of higher interest rates.

We’re also supporting non-profit, co-op, and public housing providers.

We’ll be helping to cut the red tape that prevents construction workers from moving across the country to build homes—and we’ll be bringing to Canada more of the skilled trades workers that our construction sector needs, like the great people we see right here, who have been building these truly beautiful apartments.

We’re also cracking down on short-term rentals—listed on sites like Airbnb and VRBO—which are keeping far too many homes off the market in communities and cities right across the country, including here in Toronto.

And that’s just what we’re doing this week.

We are also making it easier for more than 250,000 Canadians—and counting—to buy their first home with our new tax-free First Home Savings Account.

The federal government owns more land than anyone else in Canada—and we are going to build more homes on it.

We are lifting the GST on new rental construction to make it more affordable for builders to build. And we will be discussing this with the team of workers here.

We are building and repairing hundreds of thousands of new homes, and we are financing the construction of tens of thousands more.

We have banned foreign investment in Canadian housing, and we are ensuring that property flippers pay their fair share.

We are making it more affordable for families to construct secondary suites.

And we have signed agreements with cities across the country to slash the red tape which is preventing homes from being built in the first place—and in exchange, we are providing them with new funding to build more than 100,000 new homes, faster.

Why are we doing all of this? We’re doing it because we know that Canada needs more homes—and we need more of them, fast.

Our government is doing our part—and we are approaching this task with the purpose, drive, and intensity that it requires, and that it demands.

We’ll keep working—day after day, week after week, month after month, and year after year—to build the homes that Torontonians—and all Canadians—need, expect, and deserve.

Thank you very much.