It is always so great to see you. It is great to be here in Oakville today to talk about our plan to build more housing here in the GTA and right across the country. So glad to be here, obviously with our Minister of Housing, Sean Fraser, 

But also other members of members of our team, Minister Karina Gould, Anita, Pam, Adam and the entire team of municipal leaders who are here with us, particularly Halton Regional Chair Carr, thank you so much for being here as well. Halton Mayors and councillors, thank you for being part of this because we don't get things built unless we work together. And that's why we're gathered here today, because we all take the need for more housing options so seriously. 

Last week we released our budget, which is all about fairness for every generation, especially Gen Z and millennials. Younger generations are worried that regardless of how hard they work, how many side hustles they get, it looks like they won't have the kind of life that they saw their parents and grandparents able to give them. 

In the past, when people worked hard and had a good job, they could afford a home, but today, housing is just too expensive. Things have to change, we have to tackle the housing crisis with ambition, and that’s exactly what we’re doing. 

If we want to make homes more affordable, we need to build more of them. And that's exactly what we're doing. Our housing plan will deliver almost 3.9 million homes in the coming years, and an important part of this plan and we're going to talk about it today, is the use of public lands. We're making a historic shift in our approach to public lands that will unlock 250,000 new homes for Canadians by 2031, and to convert these public lands to housing, we'll be using all the tools available, and we'll be partnering with homebuilders and housing providers. 

So, right now, governments across Canada are sitting on surplus, underused and vacant public lands like empty office towers or low-rise buildings. There is great potential to build more housing, but we all have to step up, all of us together. As part of our work with municipal, provincial and private sector partners, we will launch a $500 million Public Lands Acquisition Fund so we can purchase land from other levels of government and build more middle-class homes. 

By freeing up public lands to build housing, governments can reduce construction costs and build more housing, faster, at prices Canadians can afford. 

Another thing we'll do is lease public lands instead of selling them off, selling them off wherever we can. Leasing public lands to partners means that public lands stay public, and an affordable home therefore will stay affordable. I think that's something that every level of government can get behind.

The federal government owns a lot of properties and lands, such as Canada Post’s properties, National Defence lands and underused federal offices. We need to use these lands to better serve Canadians and help build more housing. 

Canada Post, for example, has more than 1,700 post offices across the country, many of them in central locations in their communities. We could build homes or apartments on top of these offices that meet the needs of communities while maintaining the services Canadians expect. On National Defence properties that are not required for Defence operations, we can build affordable housing and prioritize the needs of members of the Canadian Armed Forces and their families. Work is already underway to with the Department of National Defence to unlock 14 surplus properties for homes. Now, it's not how previous governments used to do things, but it's not rocket science either. Over the past years, our government has unlocked over 10,000 homes on public land.

It won’t be easy to solve the housing crisis, but with bold and responsible solutions, we’ll get there together. 

And I've spent the last few weeks talking with Canadians, the couple who's expecting their second child and needs an extra room. The workers who deal with long commutes every day to go into work. The students who can't afford to pay for a rent that just keeps increasing. Canadians need homes they can afford. This is one of the most urgent issues that people are facing. And we made a promise to Canadians that we were going to solve this housing crisis, and using public lands to build more homes is a big part of our plan. 

But we’re also going to help tenants improve their credit rating. We’re working with the municipalities to eliminate red tape and speed up housing construction. We’re helping to build more apartments, co-ops and supportive housing across the country. 

We're working hard every day to make housing more affordable so that every generation has a fair chance to succeed.