Readout
Today, the Honourable Chrystia Freeland, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, held a virtual roundtable with housing stakeholders and experts from Quebec.
The Deputy Prime Minister reaffirmed the federal government's commitment to ensure all Canadians have a safe and affordable place to call home. A topic of focus was how high housing costs and limited supply continue to place middle class and low-income Canadians under financial pressure, making it particularly difficult for young families and young Canadians, including students, to find affordable housing. The Deputy Prime Minister recognized that this is an economic issue for Canada as well as a social issue.
Participants spoke of the need to improve affordability of existing housing as well as to increase housing supply across the housing spectrum, with the markets in Quebec experiencing distinct affordability issues. Participants stressed the importance of action by all orders of government, including through both investment and policy innovations.
The Deputy Prime Minister underscored the federal government's plan for a strong economic recovery in the wake of the COVID-19 recession and that addressing the challenges of housing affordability is an important part of that work.
