3 Things Housing Providers Need to Know This Election
It’s election season across Canada. On September 11, Justin Trudeau called the beginning of the 43rd Canadian federal election. With Election Day on October 21, parties will crisscross the country to spread their messages, policies and ideas for Canada’s future.
Polls suggest housing affordability is high on voters’ priority list. Already, Justin Trudeau announced an expansion to the First-Time Home Buyer Incentive as the campaign’s first policy announcement. While other issues like the economy, healthcare and climate change are of great concern nationally, voters in battleground ridings identified housing affordability as a worry.
Canada’s 43rd election is a hugely consequential one for the community housing sector. While the major parties recognize housing’ importance, each have taken separate approaches to ensure every Canadian has a place to call home. As parties begin their nationwide campaigns in earnest, we’ve put together a list of the top three things Housing Providers should know heading into this election.
ONPHA IS TAKING ACTION
This election, ONPHA is working hard to ensure affordable housing is a key issue amongst candidates and parties. With its partners across the country and with the Canadian Housing and Renewal Association, ONPHA is putting its members first by advocating for their needs amongst Canada’s decision-makers.
Armed with our materials, ONPHA will engage with candidates in Ontario’s ridings to ensure they see the value community housing brings to the province. Visit our election webpage to access resources for yourself and tenants, learn what parties have committed, and access materials to get involved in the fight for community housing.
HOUSING MATTERS TO MAJOR PARTIES
All major parties have made some form of housing commitment thus far. All parties are concerned about housing affordability, but have different means to achieve it. With 5 battlegrounds ridings representing some of the worst housing affordability in the country, parties have a vested interest to ensure housing costs are addressed.
Shortly after the election was called, Trudeau promised to expand the first-time home buyers incentive eligible under the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s incentive. He also committed to a $55-billion plan to build 100,000 affordable housing units over a decade. Andrew Scheer’s Conservatives pledged their own proposal on home ownership, easing regulations to help get new homes built. The NDP committed to expand Trudeau’s homebuyer incentive further, among other promises like building 500,000 new affordable homes.
YOU CAN GET INVOLVED
ONPHA’s election webpage hosts several resources – printable PDFs from Elections Canada and other websites – to post in your buildings about common voter questions. ONPHA is eager to advocate for the housing sector: we encourage housing members to help if they wish.
If you want to support ONPHA’s efforts this election, don’t hesitate to reach out to our advocacy team. Ultimately, the most important thing members can do is get tenants out to vote on October 21.
Housing matters for everyone. This election, ONPHA is proud to be our housing members’ voice with our federal partners at the Canadian Housing Renewal Association. Let’s keep community housing a focus this election to ensure everyone has a place to call home.
