Leader, last Thursday, the NDP-Liberal government’s own housing authority confirmed once again that this government is failing to build the homes Canadians need.

In its Fall 2024 Housing Supply Report, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, or CMHC, said the number of new homes being built “. . . isn’t enough to reduce the existing supply gap and improve affordability for Canadians.” In Vancouver, B.C., CMHC said housing starts fell in the first half of 2024. In your home of Montreal, leader, CMHC said, “. . . the pace of construction is barely keeping up with the growth in housing needs.”

As this crisis drags on, why should Canadians believe your government has a plan to fix what is broken?

The housing crisis is a real crisis. This question is quite properly addressed because it’s top of people’s minds and people are struggling, but I’m not going to be pedantic with you.

The fact remains that the government has a plan that it has put in place. It has made serious investments. It’s working in a serious way with the provinces, territories and municipalities. It has put money on the table. It has put a plan on the table. The only other alternative that we’re hearing is the statement of the problem, which the government accepts is a problem. The difference is this government is actually doing something about it rather than simply talking about it.

I quote CMHC again: “. . . the pace of construction is barely keeping up with the growth in housing needs.” Leader, what is the current housing supply gap? Do we still need 3.5 million homes over and above your government’s projections just to restore affordability by 2030, or has the gap become worse in the last year?

He doesn’t know.

There is a serious housing gap. And the serious housing gap, which is a quantitative measure, is related to but distinct from whether available housing is affordable for those in different communities — that varies from neighbourhood to neighbourhood, from city to city and from province to province.

The government is doing all that it can within its jurisdiction to address this, and it will continue to do so.