By Canadian Press

Freeland says budget lacked housing measures because 2022 funds still being spent

Mar 30, 2023 | 5:03 PM

SURREY, B.C. — Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland says this week’s federal budget lacked new measures to address Canada’s housing crisis because last year’s budget already included a $10-billion plan that’s still being spent.

Freeland says on a visit to British Columbia that last year’s budget allocated funds for the $4-billion housing accelerator program launched earlier this month by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Freeland says the previous housing funding “hasn’t been spent yet,” and it’s up to municipalities across the country to apply for it through a recently opened portal for the accelerator fund.

B.C. Premier David Eby, who attended a news conference in Surrey with Freeland, says he recognizes there are “significant parcels” of funding from the last budget that have not yet been deployed in the province “in a significant way.”

Eby says the federal government needs to make sure that B.C. sees “its fair share of that funding.”

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Real estate observers have said the budget presented Tuesday was lacking in housing affordability measures, especially in areas such as creating or supporting supply.

This report by The Canadian Press was first publishedMarch 30, 2023.

The Canadian Press