Debates of June 11th, 2025

Main Estimates and Supplementary Estimates (A), 2025-26

[Scot Davidson, Conservative, New Tecumseth—Gwillimbury, ON]

Mr. Chair, the minister said to all Canadians that house prices do not need to go down. Why does preserving high real estate values matter more to him than ensuring that people can afford a home?

[Gregor Robertson, Liberal, Vancouver Fraserview—South Burnaby, BC]

Mr. Chair, what matters to me is building more affordable housing, and members on this side of the House will put all efforts into that.

[Scot Davidson, Conservative, New Tecumseth—Gwillimbury, ON]

Mr. Chair, what percentage of homes in Canada are owned by investors?

[Gregor Robertson, Liberal, Vancouver Fraserview—South Burnaby, BC]

Mr. Chair, homes need to be for living in; they need to be for residents and not investors.

[Scot Davidson, Conservative, New Tecumseth—Gwillimbury, ON]

Mr. Chair, the number is 30%. That is up 50% since 2015, since the Liberal government has been in power.

How many investment properties does the minister own?

[Gregor Robertson, Liberal, Vancouver Fraserview—South Burnaby, BC]

Mr. Chair, investment is secondary to people's living in homes. We need to build homes that people live in, not invest in.

[Scot Davidson, Conservative, New Tecumseth—Gwillimbury, ON]

Mr. Chair, I was looking for the number. How many investment properties does the Minister of Housing own?

[Gregor Robertson, Liberal, Vancouver Fraserview—South Burnaby, BC]

Mr. Chair, I think the focus here needs to be on building homes for people to live in, not building homes for investors to own.

[Scot Davidson, Conservative, New Tecumseth—Gwillimbury, ON]

Mr. Chair, how many rental units does the Minister of Housing own?

[Gregor Robertson, Liberal, Vancouver Fraserview—South Burnaby, BC]

Mr. Chair, I am here to answer questions on behalf of my department for the investment in affordable housing across Canada, and infrastructure and housing.

[Scot Davidson, Conservative, New Tecumseth—Gwillimbury, ON]

Mr. Chair, these are important questions that Canadians need answers to.

Will the creation of “build Canada homes” just lead to more red tape and government bureaucracy?

[Gregor Robertson, Liberal, Vancouver Fraserview—South Burnaby, BC]

Mr. Chair, “build Canada homes” is going to focus on building affordable housing across Canada at a scale that is unprecedented.

[Scot Davidson, Conservative, New Tecumseth—Gwillimbury, ON]

Mr. Chair, since there has been no budget from the Liberal government, how much money is being allocated to “build Canada homes”?

[Gregor Robertson, Liberal, Vancouver Fraserview—South Burnaby, BC]

Mr. Chair, at this stage, we are designing the future for “build Canada homes”. It is not an entity that exists yet, but I hope the members opposite will support the investment to scale affordable housing—

[The Chair, Conservative, Tom Kmiec]

The hon. member has the floor.

[Scot Davidson, Conservative, New Tecumseth—Gwillimbury, ON]

Mr. Chair, could the minister point to where I would find that out in the estimates, please?

[Gregor Robertson, Liberal, Vancouver Fraserview—South Burnaby, BC]

Mr. Chair, “build Canada homes” is not specifically in the infrastructure and housing estimates at this stage.

[Scot Davidson, Conservative, New Tecumseth—Gwillimbury, ON]

Mr. Chair, how many new public servants will be hired for the agency?

[Gregor Robertson, Liberal, Vancouver Fraserview—South Burnaby, BC]

Mr. Chair, at this point, we are dealing with the estimates for the current programs that the housing and infrastructure department is putting out.

[Scot Davidson, Conservative, New Tecumseth—Gwillimbury, ON]

Mr. Chair, the minister spoke so much tonight about housing but answered no questions. Hopefully he can give Canadians an answer to this: On what date, what exact date, will the average Canadian who is priced out of a home right now be able to afford one? Just—

[The Chair, Conservative, Tom Kmiec]

The hon. minister has the floor.

[Gregor Robertson, Liberal, Vancouver Fraserview—South Burnaby, BC]

Mr. Chair, we have delivered a $50,000 savings to first-time homebuyers already with votes in the House, and we will continue to deliver affordability measures.

[Leslyn Lewis, Conservative, Haldimand—Norfolk, ON]

Mr. Chair, in the main estimates, the government has allocated $9 billion for infrastructure. How much of this is allocated for new roads?

[Gregor Robertson, Liberal, Minister of Housing and Infrastructure and Minister responsible for Pacific Economic Development Canada]

Mr. Chair, I welcome the member.

Infrastructure investments in the department are typically through provinces and territories, and their priorities are part of where that spending goes. Some of that is into roads. It is into all sorts of different infrastructure: water, waste water and transportation infrastructure.

[Leslyn Lewis, Conservative, Haldimand—Norfolk, ON]

Mr. Chair, can the minister tell Canadians how many new roads need to be built in order to accommodate the 500,000 new homes in the government's plan?