New budget features $11.2-billion national housing strategy
In a budget that sprinkles Canadian funds across the board, housing will be getting its due. Wednesday's budget announcement revealed that the Liberals' plan to spend $11.2-billion to support their national housing strategy.
It is an ambitious strategy. One that ties directly into the social end of the administration's long-term infrastructure plans. Affordable housing initiatives will represent the main pillar of the vision, but it will also include steps to address homelessness across the country.
Approximately $5-billion in funding will be allocated to housing providers, who will pool with private partners in order to expand the resources available for housing affordability. This will include the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. Housing providers make an enormous difference all across the country. Subsidies have made housing available to 265,000 Torontonians. In this time of skyrocketing home prices, having those services in place has never been more necessary.
Additionally, several hundred-million dollar pledges will be made to purchase land and build various affordable housing projects. Some will be general projects and others will be geared towards those in the north or indigenous peoples.
One intriguing aspect of everything is the $39.9-million that will be given to Statistics Canada so that it can build a national database of every property in Canada. This grand project will streamline the housing analysis process and be updated as soon as new information becomes available.
The budget's homelessness initiatives will command $2.1 billion. Those funds will be designated towards establishing a strong emergency shelter and transitional shelter system.