Federal NDP call out Ottawa on affordable housing during Edmonton stop

The federal NDP claims affordable housing is increasingly out of reach for families.

On Monday, NDP leader Jagmeet Singh spoke with local families at the North Glenora Community League alongside NDP MPs Blake Desjarlais and Heather McPherson.

The party reports that, similar to other cities, Edmonton saw the price of a one-bedroom apartment increase by 12.8 per cent in one year.

"Today we just came out of a housing round table with members of the community, folks that are struggling to find housing in Alberta," McPherson said. "Really heartbreaking stories talking about how difficult it is to have housing, to find housing, to maintain housing and what that means for communities, what that means for families around this province."

More than 3,000 Edmontonians are without a home, Singh said, and another 49,000 are living in homes that are too small, that are unaffordable or in poor condition.

"Young people, people with jobs, people that have lower incomes — everyone is faced with a real struggle when it comes to housing," Singh said. "We heard stories from people today that spent so much money on their rent, that, if you factor in rent and bills, they have so little money left over that they're skipping meals."

Singh said, among economically similar countries, Canada has seen the fastest increase in housing and rental prices. In July, the average price of a rental unit in Canada reached the highest number yet at $2,078.

While supply is an issue, Singh said increasing it won't get more people into homes.

Instead, he suggests the root cause of the problem is the housing market structure itself.

"If we have more supply but there continues to be a market that favours investors snapping up all that supply and monopolizing that supply, then it's not going to solve the problem," he added.

The NDP proposed several solutions to the housing affordability crisis, including an acquisition fund, which would help community groups, not-for-profits and municipalities buy affordable housing and keep it affordable.

Other avenues suggested include tax breaks for home builders "for projects that are truly affordable" and building non-market housing.

CTV News Edmonton has reached out to the federal government for comment. 

In a statement to CTV News Edmonton, a spokesperson for the federal ministry of housing, infrastructure and communities said all levels of government need to work together "to urgently and thoughtfully respond to the housing crisis facing our country."

Federal measures addressing housing affordability include a housing accelerator fund worth $4 billion, a housing initiative to build more than 15,000 affordable homes worth another $4 billion and a $40,000 tax-free first home savings account program, said the statement.

Jason Nixon, the Alberta government's minister of seniors, community and social services, also reacted to Singh's call for governments to better tackle the issue of affordable housing, in a statement calling it a "crisis right now caused by Justin Trudeau and his policies."

"We need the federal government to step up and do their part to support low-income Albertans," Nixon said, urging both the federal and provincial NDP to join the provincial UCP government in demanding more funding. "That is why I have teamed up with the mayors of Calgary and Edmonton about the lack of funding that Alberta received from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation under the Rapid Housing Initiative." 

With files from the Canadian Press and CTV News' Hayatullah Amanat.