Only 12 new homes were built in recent years in relation to the Liberal government’s plan to convert surplus Crown property into affordable housing, data from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) indicates.
These new homes, built on small parcel of land in Sherbrooke, Quebec, is a fraction of the 672 units that were planned in other cities such as Ottawa and Sudbury.
The CMHC provided the information in an Inquiry of Ministry tabled by the government on Sept. 18, and was first covered by Blacklock’s Reproter. The Inquiry was in response to an order paper filed by Conservative MP Tim Uppal who sought data on federal Crown land being sold or donated for the building of new homes since 2016.
Public Services and Procurement Canada has also sold properties across the country totalling $21.2 million. Although 551 homes are slated to be built on the land, the status of completion was marked “unknown” for the vast majority of the projects.
“We are focused on building more houses,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Sept. 13, citing an eight-year-old Ministerial Mandate in which inventory of all Crown properties would be taken for the purpose of building affordable homes.
Under the Federal Lands Initiative, 231 Crown properties were earmarked for the sale of what would eventually become affordable housing. However, to date, only eight properties have been sold, according to a CMHC April audit.
Although the Ministerial Mandate was implemented in 2015, the eight Crown properties in question were only sold between 2019 and 2022.
Some properties were effectively donated, like a quarter-acre property in Newfoundland sold by Fisheries and Oceans Canada for $1, which resulted in the construction of a single home.
Housing affordability has been a hot topic of late, with soaring prices now being compounded by higher mortgage rates. Rents are also reaching record levels.
Conservatives have hammered on this theme and polls have showed them forging a comfortable lead over the Liberals in recent months.
The Liberal government says housing is a priority and its first bill tabled since the House of Commons reconvened aims to reduce the financial burden for builders.
