New housing minister faces daunting crisis as construction targets lag

Toronto MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith has acknowledged the steep challenge ahead following his appointment to housing minister.

He is the fourth person to hold that position in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's cabinet in three years.

"I understand there's a short runway," Erskine-Smith told said, per Blacklocks, as updated data shows housing construction falling drastically short of federal goals.

Erskine-Smith, a Toronto MP, stepped into the role just months after announcing his plan to leave politics.

"I plan to run in the next election in order to protect the progress and then in the short term make the biggest difference I can," he said. "If I can make a small difference, if I can make a big difference, I want to make the biggest difference I can."

The federal government has set an ambitious target to construct 3.9 million new homes by 2031, requiring about 800,000 housing starts annually — triple the current rate and far exceeding Canada’s all-time record of 273,200 starts set in 1976. Updated figures from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation on December 16 reported a flat trend at 243,268 starts this year, well below what’s needed to meet cabinet’s goals.

Richard Lyall, president of the Residential Construction Council of Ontario, previously testified to the Commons human resources committee that such targets were unrealistic.

"Not a chance," he said. "We're in a crisis moment. It's not just a crisis of housing, it's a crisis of growth management. The data points are truly shocking."

Erskine-Smith expressed urgency about the situation, pointing to widespread frustration among Canadians.

"I see millions of Canadians who are rightly angry about housing where they see their parents are better off than they are, even though they’re working just as hard and have a job that’s just as good," he said.

Erskine-Smith also linked housing shortages to broader economic challenges.

"Look around every one of our communities affected by homelessness and encampments, and that's a consequence of housing," he lamented. “You look at productivity. If you want to talk about productivity in this country, and we should, people are leaving my city, my province, and our country because they can’t afford to live here."

Erskine-Smith replaces Sean Fraser, who resigned abruptly on December 16, citing a desire to return to his home province of Nova Scotia. Fraser, who had vowed as recently as May 9 to be "the person" to solve the housing crisis, now passes the baton to Erskine-Smith amid mounting pressure for tangible progress.