Mayors hit back at Poilievre, saying they are ‘not gatekeepers’
OTTAWA — Mayors are community builders, not gatekeepers, Canada’s municipal governments said Monday as their spokesman hit back against language Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre often uses to attack city leaders.
Scott Pearce, president of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, was speaking at a news conference in Ottawa ahead of the spring budget to call on the federal government for more infrastructure money. Asked about Poilievre’s proposed housing plan, Pearce appeared to reject the Conservative leader’s oft-levelled accusation that cities are the ones standing in the way of building more homes.
“Canadian mayors are not gatekeepers, we’re community builders. And I don’t build houses, developers build houses,” said Pearce. “So when the interest rates are at what they are, it’s more difficult to have builders build.”
Poilievre has been riding a wave of support since the summer as he focuses his message on affordability and housing. He often rails against “gatekeepers” in cities he says are snarled in red tape, high fees and delays.
Regardless of who is in power federally, municipalities will need more infrastructure spending to ramp up home construction, said Pearce, the mayor of the central Quebec township of Gore.
“Whether it’s Mr. Poilievre or Mr. Trudeau, whoever the government is, the infrastructure funding is the most important thing if we’re going to be successful in building the 5.8 million houses we need.”
The federation is open to working with all parties, added Halifax Mayor Mike Savage, the current chair of the group known as the Big City Mayors’ Caucus.
The Canadian Housing and Mortgage Corp. estimates Canada needs to build 5.8 million homes by 2030 to restore affordability, a goal that economists at CMHC have conceded will be very difficult to achieve.
Municipalities have been warning that their communities can’t build enough homes to match population growth without more money for things like water infrastructure and roads.
The federation estimates every new home built requires $107,000 in infrastructure, on average.
Pearce said it’s time for the federal government and provincial and territorial governments to stop fighting over jurisdiction and instead work on getting municipalities the funding they need.
“At this point, it’s almost like Mom and Dad are fighting and the kids are in the basement, starving,” he said.
“The municipalities are crying for help because we can’t continue the way we are without infrastructure money.”