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

Vancouver, British Columbia — November 30, 2023

Hello everyone.

I would like to acknowledge that we are gathered on the traditional and unceded territory of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh peoples.

I am just thrilled to be here in Vancouver with Carol Lee, Chair of the Vancouver Chinatown Foundation.

Vancouver is home to a large and vibrant Chinese community, as well as the largest and most iconic Chinatown in Canada.

The Vancouver Chinatown Foundation is such a cornerstone of this community, and a real inspiration for Chinatown communities across Canada, including one that I have the privilege of representing as a Member of Parliament—Toronto’s Chinatown. And we have some really good connections between our communities that enrich both.

By supporting local businesses and cultural programs, and by championing important affordable housing projects like this one—the Vancouver Chinatown Foundation is creating a lasting, positive, and transformational impact on Chinatown and on Vancouver.

Carol—truly, thank you for your leadership, for your partnership, for your vision, and for being able to see something that is hard to see: that this place could become a place for people to live in and thrive.

That’s what’s so exciting for me, and I hope that the people of B.C. and Vancouver will see that, too.

Just over two years ago, I was here with Carol and with my colleagues at 58 West Hastings and announced the federal funding for this project.

Shovels were just starting to dig in. And here we are today, standing inside one of the 231 new homes that people will be moving into, starting next May.

These homes are really special.

120 supportive housing units for people experiencing homelessness—homes for more than 230 people.

111 homes that will be truly affordable for families with lower incomes.

I want to emphasize what Carol said, which was that her ambition was to build homes that people could not just live in—but thrive in.

Looking at these beautiful apartments, you can see that is what has been created here. Just look at the view behind me! Look at the outdoor space, and the new cupboards and appliances.

I say all of that because I think it’s so important, as Carol said, to be building not only homes, but communities, and to be creating spaces where the people living in them feel respected, cared for, and loved. That is what I think these homes will do.

I also want to take a moment to thank the skilled tradespeople who I met as I looked around the homes here.

These are people who came to Canada from all over the world, and we are so lucky to have their skills, their brains, and their talented hands, building these wonderful homes for us all.

The Lily Lee Community Health Centre, operated by Vancouver Coastal Health, will be based on the first three floors of the building. This is so important for creating a community here and for helping the people who are going to live here to really thrive. It’s going to provide important resources like mental health and addiction care—all of that just an elevator ride, or a couple of flights of stairs away.

I do also want to recognize the contribution of Lily Lee— Carol’s mother. She was a public health nurse who worked in this community, and she really recognized—in a way that only a person who has done that kind of work can—how important providing public health care is. I had the privilege of meeting Lily two years ago when we announced the funding for this project, and I am really thrilled to see her vision coming to life. 

There will be community programming, a playground, a garden, and a mix of micro, studio, and one- and two- bedroom units—homes for everyone. 

Some of these beautiful homes are going to rent for $563 a month.

This is exactly the type of housing we need more of in Vancouver, and across Canada.

And it really is an excellent example of the great things we can achieve when all levels of government work together—and work together with charitable foundations like the Vancouver Chinatown Foundation.

Communities and government working together to deliver for Canadians. That’s what’s happening here.

Last week, I tabled the 2023 Fall Economic Statement.

This is the newest phase in our government’s economic plan, a plan which is focused on building an economy that works for everyone—while continuing to support Canadians and build more homes, faster.

Building on the significant action we have already taken through our economic plan—including this fall—I announced 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 here—for Canadians.

That includes $15 billion in additional, low-cost financing through the Apartment Construction Loan Program, which will help build more rental homes for Canadians.

The Apartment Construction Loan Program started in 2017, and up until the Fall Economic Statement of last week, $25 billion in low-cost financing in total had been invested in that program.

Up until the day of the Fall Economic Statement, a little more than $17 billion of that financing had been committed, and that is money that is financing many great projects across Canada, including projects in B.C, like the Sen̓áḵw project that is building thousands of new homes just west of here near the Burrard Street Bridge.

So, there was just $8 billion left, and we know Canadians need more than $8 billion worth of new homes. And that’s why, in our Fall Economic Statement, I was so glad to be able to top up this essential program with another $15 billion in financing.

We also introduced a new Canadian Mortgage Charter.

The Canadian Mortgage Charter details the tailored mortgage relief that people here in Vancouver, all over B.C., and across Canada can expect from their banks if they are in a challenging financial situation.

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

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

We’ll be helping to cut the red tape that prevents our construction workers from moving across the country to build homes—and we will be bringing to Canada more of the skilled trades workers that our construction sector needs, just like some of the great people I met here today.

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

And I do want to take a moment to recognize Premier Eby and the B.C. government for introducing their own strong rules to rein in short-term rentals.

Our measures are designed to add more teeth to that valuable step. I’m confident that we will very soon see thousands of homes return to the market—homes for the people of British Columbia to live in—thanks to our combined efforts. And I really want to underline this, because what’s really good about this step is we don’t need to wait for these homes to be built. These are homes that are here right now and that our friends and neighbours can live in.

We’re 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’re going to build more homes on it.

We’re lifting the GST on new rental construction to make it more affordable for builders to build.

We’re building and repairing hundreds of thousands of new homes and financing the construction of tens of thousands more.

We’re preventing foreign buyers from parking their money in Canada by buying up residential homes, and we’re ensuring that property flippers pay their fair share.

We’re making it more affordable for families to build secondary suites. 

And we’ve 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’re providing those cities 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 Canadians need more homes—and we need more of them, fast.

We’re doing this because we know that housing is absolutely the top-of-mind issue for millions and millions of Canadians.

I’ve heard it from people here in Vancouver and across B.C.

And I’ve heard it from people right across Canada.

And we’re going to continue working day after day after day to deliver for Canadians and help to build the homes that we know Canadians need.

We’re a growing country, and a growing country needs to build more homes, faster. It’s as simple as that.

58 West Hastings is going to be a fantastic community.

This is going to be a wonderful place for people and families to build their lives in and thrive. A beautiful place for people to live.

I know that because I can see how much everyone here cares about this community and the people who will live here—from the skilled tradespeople to the architects, to the people at the Vancouver Chinatown Foundation.

This is really a place that has been built with care and love.

While some talk down this neighbourhood, I can see that everyone here is so proud of this community and is working so hard to make it even better. Thank you for that.

Our government is just delighted to be your partner—and I am looking forward to even more homes being built for the people who need them here in the Downtown Eastside.

I’m really looking forward to May, when people are going to move into these beautiful homes.

Thank you very much.