Remarks by the Deputy Prime Minister on helping over 500,000 Canadians save for their first home and building more homes, faster

January 11, 2024 - Toronto, ON

Good morning.

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

I am so delighted to be in Toronto today with my wonderful colleague, the local MP Marci Ien, with Andrew Joyner, Managing Director of Tricon Residential, and with the team of people who have made this truly historic community possible.

We are here in Canary Landing, right next to the Distillery District. There are some things that I really want to highlight about why I’m here today, why Marci is here today, and why we really want to point out—to the people of Toronto, the people of Ontario, the people of Canada—what is being done here.

Canary Landing is the largest residential development in Canada. It includes 2,510 purpose-built rental units, 685 of which will be at below market rent. Those 685 units will be—some of them already are—for families, victims of domestic violence, seniors, persons with disabilities, artists, and Indigenous people.

These are really nice places to live. And one of the really important things is there is no difference between the apartments that are going to rent at market rent and the apartments that will rent at affordable levels. Why I want to emphasize that is, if you do not have a place to live, the single most important thing is just to have a home—to be warm and dry and safe. But the apartments here are more than housing; they’re true homes and they are about creating a true community for all the people who live here—the people who are paying market rents and the people who are living in affordable housing. 

And that integration is something that we really need to strive for because that’s about building Canada. It’s about building community. And it’s about giving a real chance for the most vulnerable Canadians to truly thrive.

People are already moving into these buildings and Marci and I were really touched by a story about a family who have moved in here.

We looked at a four-bedroom apartment, a really nice one that’s going to rent for $955, and we heard how for a family that was struggling to find housing, living here has already transformed the life of the family, of the children. That’s what this is all about.

And we need to do a lot more. We need to build more homes, faster, in Canada. I do want to say though, the job is getting done and it’s being done in a way to really transform lives and build communities.

I do want to take a moment to recognize and thank the skilled tradespeople, whose hands and whose minds are building these homes. We need more of them, too. These are exactly the types of homes that Toronto needs—that Canada needs—and we need them right now and we need more of this kind of housing built faster.

That’s why I’m delighted that our government has been able to support a significant number of these new rental homes through our Apartment Construction Loan Program.

Specifically, that support helped to build 1,616 rental units here at Canary Landing, with an investment of $801 million.

The Apartment Construction Loan Program is a really important program. We topped it up with $15 billion in the Fall Economic Statement because it makes the math work for builders—like the people who built this great project—and it creates the right financial circumstances for them to build purpose-built rental communities like this one, rather than condos. We’re seeing right now what that money can do, what that money is already doing for Toronto—for Canada.

Canary Landing is the perfect example of the great things we can achieve when all levels of government, as well as builders, like Tricon, Dream and Kilmer, work together.

Our government recognizes that housing is the central challenge in Canada right now, especially in Toronto. We know that supply is at the heart of that challenge.

That’s why our government’s economic plan is focused on taking real, concrete action to build more homes, faster.

Last November, I announced seven major rental housing construction projects being built across Toronto through our Apartment Construction Loan Program, including 2,644 new rental homes. Cherry House, here at Canary Landing, is one of those projects, and people will start moving in next year.

And just last month, I was proud to stand with the Prime Minister and many of my colleagues, together with Mayor Chow, to announce an agreement with the City of Toronto on the Housing Accelerator Fund. That federal fund is going to provide an additional $471 million to the City of Toronto to get more homes built, faster. It will fast-track nearly 12,000 new homes in Toronto over the next three years, and more than 53,000 new homes over the next decade.

Our government is also making the path to home ownership more affordable for more Canadians through the new Tax-Free First Home Savings Account that was introduced last year.

The Tax-Free First Home Savings Account allows Canadians to contribute up to $40,000 towards the purchase of their first home. The money that is deposited into it is non-taxable at the time of contribution and non-taxable at the time of withdrawal.

For Canadians saving for their first home, the Tax-Free First Home Savings Account can—and is—making a real difference.

So this Tax-Free First Home Savings Account, which is tax-free in, tax-free out, is making a real difference in the lives of hundreds of thousands of Canadians.

And I have an announcement about it to make today. I can now tell you that more than 500,000 Canadians—half a million Canadians—have opened a Tax-Free First Home Savings Account, and that account only became available in the spring.

That is more than half a million Canadians who are one step closer to getting those first keys of their own. Half a million Canadians who are taking concrete, practical steps every day in their lives to achieve the dream of owning their first home. And I’m really glad that the government is there to support those 500,000 hardworking Canadians.

Whether it’s helping Canadians to save for their first home, like those half a million Canadians who’ve now opened a First Home Savings Account, or getting more homes built faster, our government is going to continue working every single day to deliver for Canadians and to make housing more affordable for people from coast to coast to coast.

Just before I close, I’d like to say, as the MP for University—Rosedale, and as someone who is really proud and grateful to call this great city home, I’m glad that our federal government has provided more support to Toronto than any other federal government in Canadian history.

Since 2015, the federal government has provided $5.47 billion in direct support to the City of Toronto. In 2023-2024, the current fiscal year alone, the federal government is providing more than $1.5 billion in direct support to the city.

Toronto is such an important part of our government’s economic plan. That is why our government has invested in, is investing in—and will continue to invest in—the City of Toronto, including support for terrific projects like this one. We know this is an amazing city and we also know we all need to work together to make it even better.

Today’s announcement is a great start to the new year and our government is looking forward to continuing to deliver for the people of Toronto and for all Canadians.

Thank you to everyone who has worked so hard and is continuing to work so hard to bring this project to life.