Election Series EP1 - NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh on Housing

This election, party leaders are on the campaign trail pitching their plans to make life more affordable for Canadians. Amid a national crisis, unaffordability continues to squeeze working-class renters especially hard in the housing market.

This month, the parliamentary budget officer found that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s national housing strategy is having only a “limited” impact on addressing housing needs. As well, the PBO said, the affordability gap – or the difference between the cost of a housing unit and the price a low-income Canadian can afford – is projected to rise by 24 per cent over the next five years.

All this, while rents across the country continue to rise.

But does the NDP's housing plan go far enough to address this crisis? I asked Singh what he thinks truly "affordable" housing means, whether 500,000 affordable housing units is enough to address current shortfalls and if his proposal for a $5,000 renter subsidy is just a bailout for landlords.

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