The Canadian government has reached its first agreement under the Housing Accelerator Fund with the City of London. .“After we launched the fund, Mayor Josh Morgan and his team got to work,” said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at a Wednesday press conference. .“When we saw that Josh’s plan was ambitious and serious, we said 'OK, let’s get him funding so he can fast track the building of more housing here in London.'” .The Housing Accelerator Fund was created to build more homes faster. Out of all of the mayors in Canada, Trudeau said Morgan was the fastest to step up with a proposal. .He said the Canadian government put out a framework of measures it needed to see from municipalities to access this funding. It looked at the barriers that slowed down housing construction at a time when it is needed and worked on addressing them. .Based on London’s success, he challenged other mayors across Canada “to step up with their proposals too, so we can get building more homes, increasing supply, and lowering the prices for families.”.He added the promise of Canada is every generation gets to benefit from the hard work of previous ones and succeed even more. .For too many people, that promise seems under threat. That is where his government is focused on securing this promise. .This promise is when people work hard, they will get ahead. It is focused on building more homes by working with all levels of government, indigenous communities, labour unions and private and non-profit partners. .While the Liberal caucus retreat is happening this week, Trudeau said he will have more to say about affordable housing soon. He described Canada as the best country in the world, and he will work hard to make it better. .Housing, Infrastructure, and Communities Minister Sean Fraser acknowledged Canada is living through a housing crisis. .“It’s impacting real people in real communities in very, very real ways,” said Fraser. .“The reality is there is no one reason why there’s a housing shortage that’s impacting families.” .Fraser said there are a number of different reasons. This announcement is addressing one of them head on, which is the way cities build homes. .Morgan called this “the most significant housing and housing-related infrastructure investment in London’s history.” .“We are honoured to be the first city in Canada to receive funding as part of the Housing Accelerator Fund,” he said. .He said it is a testament of the hard work of city staff, the bold leadership demonstrated by city council and the contributions of community partners. This $74 million in funding will fast track the development of 2,000 housing units over the next three years and support thousands more in the years to come. .It will allow London to provide financial incentives for housing near public transit routes, conversions of vacant commercial space into it, and bringing forward zoning changes to promote transit-friendly, higher density developments. .Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre placed the blame for the housing crisis on the Canadian government on August 2 after Trudeau said housing is not a primary federal responsibility..READ MORE: Poilievre corrects Trudeau, housing is federal responsibility.“That's funny because eight years ago, he promised he was going to lower housing costs,” said Poilievre. .“No wonder he wants to wash his hands of his horrendous and unprecedented record.”
