Parties focus on rent controls, affordable units, and support for first-time buyers
Housing affordability has emerged as one of the biggest issues in the Ontario election, with candidates from all parties hearing the same message from voters: the high cost of housing is making it nearly impossible for young people to move out on their own and for families to make ends meet.
As candidates crisscross the province, they’re hearing firsthand stories of families struggling to find affordable housing options.
Loren Mick, the New Democrat candidate in Nipissing, has been meeting families where multiple generations are living under one roof because younger family members can’t afford to move out.
"And I'm not saying there's any shame living with family, but I think there's no choice for these adult children to move on if they wanted to," Mick, who is also a town councillor in Mattawa, told CBC News. "I don't think anyone planned on being priced out of being able to leave."
David Plourde, the Progressive Conservative candidate for Mushkegowuk-James Bay, is advocating for a northern Ontario housing plan that includes all levels of government and industry players like mining and forestry.
"Everybody's getting pinched everywhere and creativity around the table is what we need to make things work," said Plourde, who is also mayor of Kapuskasing. "Let's get talking and let's make it happen."
Plourde said this plan can be part of the PC government’s larger pledge to build 1.5 million homes by 2031. He also believes Premier Doug Ford’s previous suggestion that municipal politicians are to blame for the housing shortage.
"Lots of times it's white noise out there. If we had time to deal with much of these issues at the municipal level, we'd be doing it already. Because that's what we have to do right?" Plourde added.
The Ontario Liberals are promising to reinstate rent controls that were removed in 2017. They also propose saving first-time homebuyers up to $170,000 through tax cuts and fee reductions, including land transfer tax savings.
Liberal candidate Natalie Labbée cited local success stories in Sudbury, where freezing development charges have led to increased housing construction. The Liberals are also offering up to $13,500 in incentives for seniors looking to downsize.
"[Ford] has completely failed with the new builds for what Ontario needs,” Labbée said. “Rents have skyrocketed, home ownership is further out of reach. Seniors can't even afford to downsize in their own communities."
Meanwhile, the New Democrats are committing to building 300,000 affordable housing units over the next decade and want to transfer responsibility for social housing back to the provincial government.
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In Mattawa, the town converted an empty nursing home into affordable housing for seniors, but rising costs have left the town struggling to cover the mortgage.
“We're scrambling to figure out how to address this issue with a limited tax base,” Mick said. “It's municipalities left filling in the gaps in our supportive systems from the provincial government."
Kris Rivard of the Green Party, a town councillor in West Nipissing, emphasized the urgent need to repair and make use of empty subsidized housing units in the province.
The Green Party’s Kris Rivard, who is running in Timiskaming-Cochrane, emphasized the need to make better use of existing housing stock, pointing out that many subsidized housing units remain empty because municipalities lack the funds to repair them.
"The provincial government's kind of let everyone down, and they haven't kept up with the times or the increased demand," Rivard said.
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