Remarks by the Deputy Prime Minister on protecting and expanding affordable housing

April 4, 2024 - Toronto, Ontario

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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 am really, really glad to be back home in Toronto after travelling around the country a bit. This is my second Toronto announcement this week. And I’m really glad to have two of my Toronto caucus colleagues, Rob Oliphant and Julie Dabrusin, with me. We’ve worked together for a long time and housing is an issue both of them are so deeply committed to. And it is really nice to have city councillor, Chris Moise, here with us, too. I also want to thank Ray Sullivan and the incredible people of St. Jude Community Homes.

St. Jude runs a number of community housing sites in Toronto’s downtown. Today we are at one of the buildings they operate on Parliament Street, where there are 24 affordable rental homes for women, Indigenous residents, seniors, people with disabilities, and people experiencing or at risk of homelessness.

There are built-in supports here and across all the sites that St. Jude operates, like meal programs and other services to help residents with their mental health and well-being. I was really moved by our tour of this building earlier today. The team who works here gave us the tour and spoke with great empathy and compassion and respect about the people who live here. They said, “Our job is to help everyone who lives here be their best self and live their best life.” I think that’s very powerful.

I’m glad the federal government was able to support the creation of homes in this building with $1.2 million in capital funding through our Rapid Housing Initiative in 2022.

I am so grateful to everyone who works at St. Jude, who supports St. Jude, we have some board members here, too, for being such a strong resource for Toronto’s most vulnerable residents. This is a wonderful example of the kind of community housing we need more of in Toronto and across Canada. And that’s what I’m here to talk about today.

Because we are living in a pivotal moment—and we have a plan to help every generation of Canadians get ahead.

Today, many younger Canadians feel as though the deck is stacked against them. They can get a good job, they can work hard, but far too often, the reward of a secure, prosperous life remains out of reach.

What many parents and grandparents have achieved for themselves—a degree of comfort, and security—that’s what we want for our children and our grandchildren. We want their hard work to be rewarded, as it was for us.

That is why we are acting now to build a Canada that also works for younger Canadians—a Canada where they can get ahead and where their hard work pays off.

First, we are going to turbocharge the construction of new homes across the country.

Second, we are going to help make life cost less.

And third, we are going to grow the economy in a way that’s shared by everyone.

One of the biggest pressures in Canada right now, one of the biggest pressures on Canadians right now, is housing. And we know that this is especially true for younger Canadians, for low-income workers, for single-parent families, for people with disabilities, for seniors on fixed incomes.

These Canadians are the most in need of housing options like the kind that St. Jude provides—community housing that is owned by charities, by not-for-profits, and private sector housing providers who can house people for below-market rents.

The reality today is there are more Canadians who need these homes than what is available. Right now, community housing makes up only four per cent of Canada’s housing market, and that’s just not enough. And some of these homes are being lost to demolition, conversion to condos, and rent increases. More are being lost than we are able to create new homes in this sector.

We all need to protect our most vulnerable neighbours and ensure that they have a safe home that they can afford. And our government is taking real, concrete action to address this challenge.

That is why today I am really happy to announce a new, $1.5 billion Canada Rental Protection Fund.

The Fund will help affordable housing providers acquire existing affordable housing units and keep rents at a stable level for the long term, to protect their affordability.

The Fund will be co-led and co-funded by the federal government and other partners. We are going to mobilize financing from the charitable sector and the private sector to protect and grow Canada’s supply of affordable housing. 

This is the fastest way to protect and increase our affordable housing stock.

And we know that this approach works because British Columbia launched a similar program, the BC Rental Protection Fund, last summer. Since applications for the BC Rental Protection Fund opened in July of last year, more than 2,000 homes have begun moving into community ownership. To me, that is a great proof point and we need to see that happening across the country.

The City of Toronto also has a similar initiative. It’s called the Multi-Unit Residential Acquisition Program. The program offers funding to not-for-profit housing providers to purchase and convert private, market-rate rental housing into permanent affordable homes. I know that earlier this year, in February, this program helped St. Jude acquire a building at 1845 Gerrard Street East.

We want affordable housing to remain affordable. And our government is really committed to growing and transforming the community housing sector so that organizations like St. Jude can continue to provide Canadians with the housing they need, especially the most vulnerable members of our communities.

Over the coming days, and in the budget I will be tabling this month, we’ll launch more of our no-holds- barred plan to wrestle down the costs of owning or renting a home.

We are going to make real the promise of Canada for younger Canadians, and we are going to pull every lever and push every button to deliver more housing without delay.

As the mayor said, spring is on the way with its promise of renewal. That is what we are committed to delivering on housing for young Canadians. Our government’s renewed focus today is unlocking the door to the middle class for millions of younger Canadians. In everything we do, we dedicate ourselves to making a better life within reach for our younger generations. Because that is what you have earned, that is what you deserve. And it’s what your parents and grandparents want for you, too.

Thank you very much.