Jagmeet Singh, the Federal NDP leader, is advocating for a connection between federal housing funding and immigration levels in Canada, capitalizing on the party's agreement with the federal Liberals. Singh acknowledges the necessity of immigration to address workforce shortages, as reported by various industry stakeholders.
Singh emphasizes the importance of allocating sufficient funding to housing in areas experiencing increased immigration, to prevent exacerbating the existing housing market crisis. These remarks come amid calls from provincial NDP leaders and the British Columbia (B.C.) real estate sector for the federal government to align housing initiatives with plans to accept 500,000 new permanent residents by 2025, addressing the tight labour market and specific skill set requirements.
In late March, B.C. Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon discussed the need for expanded federal funding to increase housing starts and affordable housing units with the federal Minister of Housing. Kahlon stressed the importance of providing adequate housing for incoming immigrants and temporary residents, ensuring their success in Canada.
While the federal NDP and Liberals are not in a coalition, they have a confidence-and-supply agreement in place until the 2025 election. This agreement, originating in 2021 when the Liberals were re-elected with a minority government, involves the NDP supporting the Liberals in exchange for the advancement of certain NDP priorities.
The B.C. Real Estate Association estimates that the province will need to construct 25% more homes than the current average over the next five years to counter the impact of record immigration levels on the housing market and to control price increases.
Singh, along with Jenny Kwan, MP for Vancouver East and NDP Housing Critic, and Bonita Zarrillo, MP for Port Moody-Coquitlam, proposed a national acquisition fund in Burnaby. This fund would assist non-market housing providers in purchasing buildings to prevent their acquisition by REITs and other corporate landlords, who often raise rents significantly upon finding new tenants.
The group made their announcement outside Cardston Court, a co-op housing development bought by the provincial government in July 2022 for $136.2 million, which included $22.5 million for renovations. The purchase preserved 425 affordable housing units for seniors. Since then, the B.C. NDP has introduced a $500 million Rental Protection Fund to support more non-profit housing providers in competing against well-funded private landlords.
While Singh did not provide a specific figure for the proposed national acquisition fund, he suggested that it should be substantial enough to enforce a moratorium on apartment buildings being bought by profit-driven landlords. Critics who favour REITs and larger companies purchasing older apartment buildings argue that many of these buildings require extensive renovations to improve their condition.