Close X
Monday, November 11, 2024
ADVT 
National

Canadians split on whether to blame provinces or feds for housing crisis: poll

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 23 Aug, 2023 02:16 PM
  • Canadians split on whether to blame provinces or feds for housing crisis: poll

Despite what Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said recently, a new poll suggests 40 per cent of Canadians think his government is to blame for the country's housing crisis.

Leger surveyed 1,537 people between Aug. 18 and 20, asking a series of questions about the rising cost of housing and what should be done about it.

When asked which level of government deserves the most blame for the crisis, 40 per cent of respondents pointed the finger at the federal government and 32 per cent at their provincial government.

Just six per cent of those polled felt their municipal government was to blame and another 22 per cent said they were not sure.

Renters were more likely to blame the province, while those who own their homes were inclined to blame the feds.

Trudeau was criticized by opposition parties and experts after he told reporters earlier this month that "housing isn't a primary federal responsibility," suggesting that the provinces and municipalities should step up.

Even so, this week the Liberal cabinet has been meeting with two experts who published a report on housing that sets out 10 recommendations for how the federal government could tackle the problem.

One of those is a national housing accord that would see all three levels of government agree to work with builders and non-profit agencies to co-ordinate their efforts. The government hasn't detailed its plans yet but ministers at the meetings in Prince Edward Island have been clear that housing is a top priority.

The Leger poll cannot be assigned a margin of error because online surveys are not considered truly random samples.

Overall, 95 per cent of respondents said the rising cost of rents and lack of affordable homes are serious problems.

And more than half of the people polled — 55 per cent — reported that they worried at least once or twice about being able to pay their own mortgage or rent in the last couple of months. That includes 16 per cent who say they worried "frequently' about being able to make the payments.

Respondents from rural areas were most likely to say they never worried about paying their rent or mortgage, as were those over the age of 55.

People between the ages of 18 and 24 were most likely to fret, and the proportion of people worried was highest in cities. Regionally, Albertans and British Columbians were most likely to be concerned about making their payments, while Quebecers were least likely.

The poll also listed possible solutions governments could implement, and asked whether respondents agreed with them.

The top choices, with 79 per cent support each, were building more government-supplied housing and offering incentives to developers to build affordable homes. Seventy-seven per cent of respondents agreed with tightening rent controls, and 68 per cent said there should be income-based rent subsidies.

The lowest support, 56 per cent, was for discouraging short-term rentals and offering homeowners incentives to provide rental suites, at 64 per cent.

Renters were more likely than homeowners to support each of those choices.

Overall, homeowners were less likely than renters to support any of the proposed solutions.

The poll also asked whether the 1,019 respondents who owned their homes had any available space to rent. Only five per cent said they do rent space out, with just one per cent saying they have a short-term rental space.

Fifteen per cent said they have a space that could be rented that is vacant, and another 15 per cent said they have space that could be turned into something rentable.

MORE National ARTICLES

Busy Canada Day weekend for Prince George RCMP

Busy Canada Day weekend for Prince George RCMP
A statement from the detachment says officers were called to everything from robberies and attempted robberies to the torching of a vehicle -- possibly by a suspect already wanted on two other warrants.

Busy Canada Day weekend for Prince George RCMP

"A preoccupation with failure." Why the Titan submersible was doomed from the start

Jack Rozdilsky, a professor at York University in Toronto,  says OceanGate's business — ferrying paying passengers to the floor of the North Atlantic — could be compared to the immensely risky work of companies that launch space flights, drill for offshore oil, fight wildfires or operate nuclear power plants.

"A preoccupation with failure." Why the Titan submersible was doomed from the start

Joly concerned for safety of India's diplomats, calls protest poster 'unacceptable

Joly concerned for safety of India's diplomats, calls protest poster 'unacceptable
The poster is the latest in a string of problems in recent weeks that have increased tension between Ottawa and New Delhi over Sikh separatists in Canada. A poster for the event circulating on social media includes photos of India's top two diplomats in Canada — High Commissioner Sanjay Kumar Verma and Toronto Consul General Apoorva Srivastava — and refers to them as "the faces of Niijar's killers in Toronto."

Joly concerned for safety of India's diplomats, calls protest poster 'unacceptable

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau travelling to Latvia and NATO summit in Lithuania

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau travelling to Latvia and NATO summit in Lithuania
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will travel to Europe next week for the annual NATO leaders' summit. The two-day summit in Lithuania starts July 11 and comes as the alliance has agreed to extend the term of Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg by another year.  

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau travelling to Latvia and NATO summit in Lithuania

Several students stranded at Vancouver airport after Air India flight to Delhi cancelled

Several students stranded at Vancouver airport after Air India flight to Delhi cancelled
One of the students, speaking anonymously, stated, "On July 1, around 9 p.m., we received an email from Air India informing us of a five-hour delay, and the new departure time was set for 2.45 p.m. However, when we arrived at the airport, we discovered that the flight had been delayed for an additional hour."

Several students stranded at Vancouver airport after Air India flight to Delhi cancelled

Fierce blaze damages several businesses, forces evacuation in downtown Vernon, B.C.

Fierce blaze damages several businesses, forces evacuation in downtown Vernon, B.C.
The single-storey complex has been heavily damaged, prompting the owner of the Okanagan Eatery, one of the affected businesses, to post a photo of the flames online, writing, "Wow, no words. Guess that's it."

Fierce blaze damages several businesses, forces evacuation in downtown Vernon, B.C.