Pierre Poilievre kicked off his tour of Western Canada with a bombshell: calling out “Big city gatekeepers – like Vancouver City Hall” for “destroying the home ownership dreams of working class youth.”.The solution he proposed on Twitter: “If they want more federal money, these big city politicians will need to approve more home building.”.In the video, he calls out the pointless municipal red tape – the “gatekeepers” – who make it ridiculously expensive to build new homes. He provides an example: an old single detached home in Vancouver on a large lot and the ridiculous fees required to replace it with a six-unit cottage court, even though it would be exactly like the new cottage court just down the street. The bureaucracy, lobbyists, and lawyers – you see – demand to be paid, over and over again, for similar paperwork to build similar homes..Vancouver has long been one of the most restrictive places to build new homes in Canada, with 81% of residential land zoned exclusively for single-family homes. Vancouver recently relaxed some restrictions by allowing duplexes in all single-family zoned areas, but red tape still abounds..Most major cities in Canada are not much better on exclusive zoning. Toronto is 62% single-family only and – wedged between Lake Ontario and the Green Belt – has little room for additional sprawl. Calgary and Edmonton have even more restrictive gatekeepers – at 67% and 69% respectively – but sprawl hides much of the damage from red tape. Montreal – the oldest large city in Canada – is the least restrictive with only 46% of its residential land zoned exclusively for single detached homes. Predictably, Montreal is one of the most affordable major cities in North America..It’s great to see a politician seriously talk about the municipal gatekeepers who use restrictive zoning rules to block new housing construction. Poilievre is right that the best solution is to “start building homes” and that Canadians need the freedom to build. I only wish Alberta’s premier had the courage to say the same thing, because municipal gatekeeping is constitutionally the exclusive power of the provincial government..Pierre Poilievre is a career politician looking to unite all conservatives, so I’m not surprised he flew to Vancouver to call out their left-wing city hall and NDP Premier John Horgan. Poilievre is a team player. That’s good, but this issue demands leadership. If John Horgan can fix the problem in BC, then Jason Kenney has the power to end municipal gatekeeping in Alberta..Recently on Kenney’s new call-in radio show, he was asked about municipal zoning and gatekeeping. He admitted that it was a problem in Calgary but implied there was nothing he could do to fix it. Now I’m no fan of Calgary mayor Jyoti Gondek, but Kenney acting like there’s nothing he can do as premier to overrule her is either brazen dishonesty or ignorance bordering on incompetence..While Pierre Poilievre is courageously identifying the problem and talking about solutions, Jason Kenney is denying responsibility and passing the buck. Two career politicians. One young, energetic, and eager to honestly debate the big issues facing Canadians. The other old, tired, entitled, and crooked from decades of flip-flopping..If honest discussion of bold ideas is what we can look forward to in this Conservative leadership race, then Alberta’s United Conservative Party should have a leadership race for a new Premier. Poilievre is right about housing. Albertans need a premier who will follow his lead and deliver zoning reform..Alex McColl is the National Defence Columnist for the Western Standard
Pierre Poilievre kicked off his tour of Western Canada with a bombshell: calling out “Big city gatekeepers – like Vancouver City Hall” for “destroying the home ownership dreams of working class youth.”.The solution he proposed on Twitter: “If they want more federal money, these big city politicians will need to approve more home building.”.In the video, he calls out the pointless municipal red tape – the “gatekeepers” – who make it ridiculously expensive to build new homes. He provides an example: an old single detached home in Vancouver on a large lot and the ridiculous fees required to replace it with a six-unit cottage court, even though it would be exactly like the new cottage court just down the street. The bureaucracy, lobbyists, and lawyers – you see – demand to be paid, over and over again, for similar paperwork to build similar homes..Vancouver has long been one of the most restrictive places to build new homes in Canada, with 81% of residential land zoned exclusively for single-family homes. Vancouver recently relaxed some restrictions by allowing duplexes in all single-family zoned areas, but red tape still abounds..Most major cities in Canada are not much better on exclusive zoning. Toronto is 62% single-family only and – wedged between Lake Ontario and the Green Belt – has little room for additional sprawl. Calgary and Edmonton have even more restrictive gatekeepers – at 67% and 69% respectively – but sprawl hides much of the damage from red tape. Montreal – the oldest large city in Canada – is the least restrictive with only 46% of its residential land zoned exclusively for single detached homes. Predictably, Montreal is one of the most affordable major cities in North America..It’s great to see a politician seriously talk about the municipal gatekeepers who use restrictive zoning rules to block new housing construction. Poilievre is right that the best solution is to “start building homes” and that Canadians need the freedom to build. I only wish Alberta’s premier had the courage to say the same thing, because municipal gatekeeping is constitutionally the exclusive power of the provincial government..Pierre Poilievre is a career politician looking to unite all conservatives, so I’m not surprised he flew to Vancouver to call out their left-wing city hall and NDP Premier John Horgan. Poilievre is a team player. That’s good, but this issue demands leadership. If John Horgan can fix the problem in BC, then Jason Kenney has the power to end municipal gatekeeping in Alberta..Recently on Kenney’s new call-in radio show, he was asked about municipal zoning and gatekeeping. He admitted that it was a problem in Calgary but implied there was nothing he could do to fix it. Now I’m no fan of Calgary mayor Jyoti Gondek, but Kenney acting like there’s nothing he can do as premier to overrule her is either brazen dishonesty or ignorance bordering on incompetence..While Pierre Poilievre is courageously identifying the problem and talking about solutions, Jason Kenney is denying responsibility and passing the buck. Two career politicians. One young, energetic, and eager to honestly debate the big issues facing Canadians. The other old, tired, entitled, and crooked from decades of flip-flopping..If honest discussion of bold ideas is what we can look forward to in this Conservative leadership race, then Alberta’s United Conservative Party should have a leadership race for a new Premier. Poilievre is right about housing. Albertans need a premier who will follow his lead and deliver zoning reform..Alex McColl is the National Defence Columnist for the Western Standard