Housing

UBCM President Jen Ford, Addictions Minister Jennifer Whiteside, Finance Minister Katrine Conroy and Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon headlined a townhall on housing at Vancouver’s UBCM conference. (UBCM/Flickr)

Housing policy centre stage as UBCM delegates grill trio of B.C. ministers

Finance Minister Katrine Conroy said government open to hear from communities who want vacancy tax

 

The provincial government has announced the creation of new portal to speed up construction permitting and the release of a guide in preparation for a pilot project encouraging secondary suites. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Richard Buchan)

Home Suite Home: B.C. announces measures to accelerate housing creation

Premier David Eby announces new permitting portal, secondary suite guide

 

Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon (left), here seen at the August groundbreaking for a new 152-unit housing development in Tsawwassen with Delta Mayor George Harvie, KinVillage resident Pat Marsh, KinVillage board chair Dennis Deslauriers and KinVillage Association CEO Dan Levitt, welcomes the federal government’s decision to rebate the GST on new rental constructions. (Province of British Columbia/Flickr photo)

BC Housing Minister Kahlon praises GST rebate on new rental construction

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the rebate Thursday

 

<div>Members of Parliament will return to their seats in the House of Commons tomorrow as the governing Liberals lay out major new housing and cost-of-living initiatives hoping to end the beating their party is taking in the polls. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks to reporters in the foyer of the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Wednesday, June 21, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick</div>

Parliament resuming with focus on cost of living, housing fixes

Heads of grocery store chains set to appear Monday to discuss food inflation

<div>Members of Parliament will return to their seats in the House of Commons tomorrow as the governing Liberals lay out major new housing and cost-of-living initiatives hoping to end the beating their party is taking in the polls. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks to reporters in the foyer of the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Wednesday, June 21, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick</div>
Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim says the city has taken a "huge step" toward "housing attainability" by approving multiplex units in single-family neighbourhoods, but critics of the plan argue the step is little more than a shuffle. Cherry trees line a residential street in Vancouver, on Tuesday, April 4, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Vancouver clears path for multiplexes in bid to address housing crisis

Council decision means multi-family units acceptable in virtually any residential area in the city

Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim says the city has taken a "huge step" toward "housing attainability" by approving multiplex units in single-family neighbourhoods, but critics of the plan argue the step is little more than a shuffle. Cherry trees line a residential street in Vancouver, on Tuesday, April 4, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
BCGEU has called for vacancy controls to help improve affordability but they remain controversial. (Black Press Media file photo)

Advocates rally for B.C. vacancy controls, landlords say they won’t work

BCGEU calls for limits to rent hikes for new tenants as ‘soon as possible’ during legislature rally

BCGEU has called for vacancy controls to help improve affordability but they remain controversial. (Black Press Media file photo)
The Liberals are insisting they can reverse their slumping poll numbers, as MPs gather for the last day of strategy planning ahead of Parliament’s return next week. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visits the construction site of an affordable housing project in London, Ont., Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nicole Osborne

No GST on new rental housing, as Trudeau meets campaign promise

The federal government will remove GST on construction of new rental apartment…

The Liberals are insisting they can reverse their slumping poll numbers, as MPs gather for the last day of strategy planning ahead of Parliament’s return next week. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visits the construction site of an affordable housing project in London, Ont., Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nicole Osborne
Kyley Gagnon is seen here on the floating home she owns on Kootenay Lake. The forestry ministry wants to evict her. Photo: Submitted

Facing eviction, B.C. mom living on floating home pleads for reprieve

She says she’ll be left homeless if the forestry ministry removes her home from Kootenay Lake

Kyley Gagnon is seen here on the floating home she owns on Kootenay Lake. The forestry ministry wants to evict her. Photo: Submitted
Peter Fragiskatos, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, London Mayor Josh Morgan and Arielle Kayabaga visit an affordable housing project in London, Ont. on Wednesday, September 13, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nicole Osborne

‘Build more homes faster’: Canada’s first housing accelerator project unveiled

London Ontario getting $74 million for 3-year, 2,000-home development build-out

Peter Fragiskatos, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, London Mayor Josh Morgan and Arielle Kayabaga visit an affordable housing project in London, Ont. on Wednesday, September 13, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nicole Osborne
Federal Housing Minister Sean Fraser says the Liberal government will bring in unprecedented measures to help with the lack of affordable dwellings. Sean Fraser speaks to reporters during the Liberal Cabinet retreat in Charlottetown, Monday, Aug. 21, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darren Calabrese

Canada to take unprecedented measures for affordable housing: Fraser

Announcement expected this afternoon following a Liberal caucus meeting

Federal Housing Minister Sean Fraser says the Liberal government will bring in unprecedented measures to help with the lack of affordable dwellings. Sean Fraser speaks to reporters during the Liberal Cabinet retreat in Charlottetown, Monday, Aug. 21, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darren Calabrese
Residential construction as measured by new units created dropped in B.C. this July by 29 per cent. (Black Press Media file photo)

New figures show residential construction in B.C. down in July

‘Nothing is off the table’ when it comes to building more housing, says housing minister

Residential construction as measured by new units created dropped in B.C. this July by 29 per cent. (Black Press Media file photo)
NDP leader Jagmeet Singh speaks during a press conference on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Tuesday, June 13, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Singh says it’s time for a fresh $500 housing benefit payment

NDP leader says federal government has done an abysmal job on making housing affordable

NDP leader Jagmeet Singh speaks during a press conference on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Tuesday, June 13, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
Photo by Marcus Lenk on Upsplash.com

Canadians split on whether to blame provinces or feds for housing crisis: poll

Renters more likely to blame province, owners were inclined to blame the feds

Photo by Marcus Lenk on Upsplash.com
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks to reporters as cabinet members look on during the Liberal cabinet retreat in Charlottetown, P.E.I. on Wednesday, August 23, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darren Calabrese

Cabinet ministers leave retreat without new plans to address housing crisis

Trudeau: ‘We recognize and Canadians know that there’s not one silver bullet’

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks to reporters as cabinet members look on during the Liberal cabinet retreat in Charlottetown, P.E.I. on Wednesday, August 23, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darren Calabrese
A report by Re/Max Canada says the prices for detached houses in Toronto, Vancouver and B.C.’s Fraser Valley saw upward momentum in the first half of the year, but average prices fell short of those seen last year in most neighbourhoods. Houses are seen in a neighbourhood on the side of a mountain, in Maple Ridge, B.C., on Thursday, August 17, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Detached home prices down in Toronto, Vancouver and Fraser Valley: report

Close to 93 per cent of detached houses in Toronto and Vancouver posted a decline in values

A report by Re/Max Canada says the prices for detached houses in Toronto, Vancouver and B.C.’s Fraser Valley saw upward momentum in the first half of the year, but average prices fell short of those seen last year in most neighbourhoods. Houses are seen in a neighbourhood on the side of a mountain, in Maple Ridge, B.C., on Thursday, August 17, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
Home prices in Canada continued to rise in July, according to the Teranet-National Bank composite index. A real estate sign is displayed in front of a house in the Riverdale area of Toronto on Wednesday, September 29, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Evan Buhler

Home prices post second-biggest monthly jump since 2006

Teranet-National Bank composite index for July was up 2.4% from June

Home prices in Canada continued to rise in July, according to the Teranet-National Bank composite index. A real estate sign is displayed in front of a house in the Riverdale area of Toronto on Wednesday, September 29, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Evan Buhler
Sean Fraser, Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities, speaks during an announcement outside a rental housing building being developed by the University of British Columbia Properties Trust, in Vancouver, on Wednesday, August 16, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Canada’s social housing stock lagging behind peer countries

Federal government stopped investing in housing in the 1990s

Sean Fraser, Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities, speaks during an announcement outside a rental housing building being developed by the University of British Columbia Properties Trust, in Vancouver, on Wednesday, August 16, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
New homes are constructed in Ottawa on Monday, Aug. 14, 2023. From local zoning to community consultations, there are plenty of ways cities are hitting the brakes on residential construction, despite the country facing a significant housing shortage. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

How the feds could push cities to build more homes — with a carrot or stick

From local zoning to community consultations, there are plenty of ways cities…

New homes are constructed in Ottawa on Monday, Aug. 14, 2023. From local zoning to community consultations, there are plenty of ways cities are hitting the brakes on residential construction, despite the country facing a significant housing shortage. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
Housing Minister Sean Fraser says the federal government should never have got out of the housing business as even high-income professionals are struggling to find affordable housing. Fraser arrives for a cabinet swearing-in ceremony at Rideau Hall in Ottawa on Wednesday, July 26, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

Housing minister says federal government should have stayed in housing game

Fraser says people shouldn’t have to pay more than 30 per cent of their income for a home

Housing Minister Sean Fraser says the federal government should never have got out of the housing business as even high-income professionals are struggling to find affordable housing. Fraser arrives for a cabinet swearing-in ceremony at Rideau Hall in Ottawa on Wednesday, July 26, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
People dance and gather at English Bay Beach during a heat wave, in Vancouver, B.C., on Monday, June 21, 2021. Advocates for renters in British Columbia say it’s time to consider setting a maximum temperature for rental housing, to protect already vulnerable tenants from increasingly rising heat. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

As B.C. temperatures soar, advocates call for rules to keep rental housing cool

Municipal bylaws mandate minimum rental unit temperatures not maximum

People dance and gather at English Bay Beach during a heat wave, in Vancouver, B.C., on Monday, June 21, 2021. Advocates for renters in British Columbia say it’s time to consider setting a maximum temperature for rental housing, to protect already vulnerable tenants from increasingly rising heat. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck