Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the upcoming federal price range will embody a $6-billion infrastructure fund to assist homebuilding, in addition to a $400-million top-up to the housing accelerator fund.
Trudeau is in Halifax alongside Housing Minister Sean Fraser as a part of the federal government’s pre-budget tour, which goals to drum up consideration and win again assist on cost-of-living points.
“We want extra inexpensive houses, and we’d like the infrastructure to assist construct these houses,” mentioned Prime Minister Trudeau.
“That’s why in Price range 2024, we’re constructing extra infrastructure, constructing extra houses, and serving to extra Canadians discover a place to name their very own. That is about equity — ensuring communities have the protected, high quality housing they should get forward.”
The federal authorities says $1 billion might be out there to cities for pressing infrastructure wants, whereas $5 billion might be allotted for agreements with provinces and territories to assist long-term priorities.
Nonetheless, the Liberal authorities is attaching strings to the funding out there for provinces and territories, noting the cash will solely move in the event that they decide to a sequence of actions.
They embody adopting the not too long ago introduced renters’ invoice of rights, which might create a nationwide commonplace lease settlement and require landlords to reveal earlier lease costs.
Liberals additionally say future public transit funding would require municipalities to fulfill sure standards, together with eliminating all obligatory minimal parking necessities and permitting high-density housing inside 800 metres of a high-frequency transit line.
Canadian provinces may have till Jan. 1, 2025, to safe an settlement, and territories may have till April 1, 2025. If a province or territory doesn’t safe an settlement by their respective deadline, their funding allocation might be transferred to the municipal stream.
With information from Lucas Casaletto of CityNews
