The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, today issued the following statement to mark National Housing Day:

“A home is a place of refuge and safety. It connects us to community and gives us the stability to grow. Today, on National Housing Day, we recommit to ensuring that everyone in Canada has access to safe, quality, and affordable housing to raise their families, build their future, and reach their full potential.

“Right now, in communities across the country, it is too hard to build the housing we need – especially affordable housing. That’s why we are taking significant action to build more homes, faster, for the people who need it.

“Our historic National Housing Strategy has already supported the construction and repair of nearly 400,000 homes across Canada. Through the Housing Accelerator Fund, we are working with municipalities to cut red tape, increase the housing supply, and help Canadians – from young families, to seniors, to newcomers – find a good, affordable place to call home. This includes building more student housing, more homes near public transit, and more rental units. We anticipate unlocking over 100,000 new homes in cities from coast to coast to coast.

“We are also putting homeownership back in reach and supporting renters. Earlier this year, we launched the Tax-Free First Home Savings Account, which is already helping over 250,000 Canadians save for their first home. And to help build much-needed rental homes, we introduced legislation to remove the Goods and Services Tax (GST) for purpose-built rentals, and increased the annual limit for Canada Mortgage Bonds to help build up to 30,000 more rental apartments per year across the country. Building on this, the 2023 Fall Economic Statement, which was tabled yesterday, outlines additional actions to build more homes, faster, while protecting renters, buyers, and homeowners.

“We are continuing to remove barriers to housing for vulnerable groups. To date, almost a third of all funding from the National Housing Strategy has supported the housing needs of women and children. To help improve the accessibility and affordability of housing for Indigenous Peoples across the country, we committed $4.3 billion to support the ongoing implementation of the Urban, Rural and Northern Indigenous Housing Strategy, in collaboration with Indigenous housing organizations and Indigenous rights holders. We also continue to implement the $4 billion that was directly targeted to support First Nations, Inuit, and Métis housing, including in self-governing and modern treaty communities. So far, these investments have supported hundreds of projects in Indigenous communities, including home improvements, repairs, and new homes.

“We are also committed to helping address homelessness across the country. Through Reaching Home: Canada’s Homelessness Strategy, we are providing funding to urban, Indigenous, territorial, and rural and remote community-based programs across Canada ­to deliver housing services that help those most vulnerable. We are also providing more federal housing support for asylum claimants through the Interim Housing Assistance Program and working with municipalities to ensure asylum claimants and refugees continue to receive the support they deserve.

“The promise of Canada is a promise of opportunity – a promise that every generation can work hard to reach even higher than the last. One of the ways we are helping secure that promise is by building more affordable homes, faster, so that every Canadian has a place to call their own. Together, our measures are helping remove barriers, bring down costs, and fast-track housing construction across the country. On this #NationalHousingDay, we recognize the progress we have made so far and the work ahead. We will continue to work with all orders of government to build more affordable housing for Canadians and to support a more prosperous Canada – where everyone gets a real and fair chance to succeed.”