Federal Housing Minister Gregor Robertson is facing questions over his government's handling of Canada's housing crisis after accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of blaming immigrants for housing shortages, despite a departmental report identifying immigration-driven demand as a contributing factor.Blacklock's Reporter says the confrontation erupted during Question Period after Poilievre challenged the Liberal government's failure to meet Prime Minister Mark Carney's pledge to double housing construction.Robertson defended the government's position and accused the Opposition Leader of unfairly targeting immigrants."There is a difference between immigrants and immigration," Robertson told MPs as opposition members jeered.The exchange followed the release of a federal housing department briefing note acknowledging that Ottawa's target of at least 500,000 new housing starts annually will not be reached this decade.The document, titled Housing, Homelessness And Infrastructure Programs And Initiatives, was prepared June 17 and cited Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) projections showing residential construction declining over the next three years.According to the figures, housing starts are expected to fall from 247,000 in 2026 to 223,000 in 2027 and 216,000 in 2028.Those projections would leave annual construction in 2028 more than 280,000 homes short of the government's 500,000 target."Now we learn the government is admitting it won't get the Prime Minister's promised results on housing," Poilievre told the Commons."They have now admitted the Prime Minister has broken his promise to double home building and that construction will actually fall to near-record lows over the next three years, blaming immigration as the Liberals do for the housing shortage."Poilievre demanded to know how the government could justify its housing promises while federal projections showed construction heading in the opposite direction."How can the Prime Minister be so out of touch with Canadians who need homes?" he asked.Robertson responded by accusing Poilievre of unfairly blaming newcomers for the country's housing problems."I reprimand the Member opposite for constantly attacking immigrants," Robertson said."I think almost everyone in this House comes from immigrant stock. Canada's a country of immigrants, and to blame immigrants for a housing crisis is absolutely unfair and unjust.".Poilievre countered by reading directly from the housing department's own briefing note."One of the drivers of the housing shortage has been the strong growth in immigration," Poilievre quoted from the document."Will the Minister stand up now and reprimand himself?"Robertson insisted there was an important distinction between criticizing immigration policy and blaming individual immigrants."There is a difference between immigrants and immigration," he replied. "There is a big difference."The minister continued to accuse Poilievre of demonizing immigrants, prompting further heckling from opposition benches."When the Member opposite demonizes immigrants – that's specifically what he said, the Member opposite said immigrants," Robertson told MPs."Many countries including Canada, around the world, have challenges around immigration. Lots of people want to come to Canada."However, the federal briefing note explicitly identified immigration-driven population growth as one factor contributing to Canada's housing supply shortage."Canada is facing a housing supply gap with the growth in demand for housing exceeding new construction," the document stated."This has resulted in housing prices and rents growing faster than Canadians' income."The department added that strong immigration-driven housing demand had contributed to the imbalance between the number of available homes and the number of people seeking accommodation."One of the drivers of the housing shortage has been the strong growth in housing demand driven by immigration," the briefing note said.The document also warned that millions of additional homes would be required over the next decade to address Canada's housing shortage."Millions of new homes need to be built over the next decade to meet the demand for housing," it stated.The projections raise further questions about Ottawa's ability to deliver on its housing commitments, with construction expected to decline rather than accelerate over the next three years.
