Available and affordable housing a top concern in Cambridge this federal election

CBC invited candidates from the parties represented in the House of Commons for a panel discussion. Candidates for Cambridge riding were asked about housing, the opioid crisis, climate change and the post-COVID-19 economy. 

Conservative candidate Connie Cody declined the invitation to take part.

The housing crisis is a "national emergency" and needs to be addressed immediately, the Green party candidate for Cambridge says.

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In a panel discussion with CBC Kitchener-Waterloo, Michele Braniff said while the Liberal government's National Housing Strategy is in place, the 10-year timeline to build more housing  "is too slow."

"The Green Party is pushing. We need to move faster. Right now, the Greens would declare a national emergency," she said during the panel.

"We need more federal investment. We need more collaboration. There needs to be more direct money from federal government to the municipalities. Waterloo region is doing better — one of the top five in the country. But still people are homeless."

For NDP candidate Lorne Bruce, the lack of housing that is also affordable is a personal issue.

"It actually is a crisis," he said, noting his daughter is trying to enter the housing market and she has been outbid on homes.

"We need to crack down on the foreign investment so they're treating our housing market like the stock [market]."

Bruce said he also had to find a rental unit very quickly after an unexpected situation arose and "the availability of units was a real challenge."

"In the first 11 days or so or 12 days, I couldn't find a thing, no vacancy," he said.

"And I was looking across the region, not just Cambridge, but everywhere. And then when I did find something, either there was a waiting list or it was just way out of my price range. So this is a huge issue."

Liberal Bryan May says housing has been a "cornerstone" of the Liberal agenda for the last six years. The party's housing strategy would invest $72 billion over 10 years to build supply within the housing market, he said. 

The government has helped people build, repair and renovate their homes.

"We've seen more affordable housing built in Cambridge than in the last 30 years, be it 175 Hespeler Road [a 34-unit Housing Cambridge building], we doubled the size of Kirkwood Apartments in Ayr, which is affordable housing for seniors. We're seeing the build happening right now at 195 Hespeler Road, the old Satellite Motel location," he said.

May said the other side of the issue is making housing affordable.

He said the Liberal platform lays out plans to make it easier for people to save for a new home with a first-time homebuyer savings account, they would double the amount people can use as a tax credit and they will help spur more housing to be built.

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The three candidates running in the riding of Cambridge also answered questions about the opioid crisis, infrastructure funding, climate change and life post-pandemic.

In a post on her Facebook page, Cody said she has been hearing concerns about housing from many families as she's knocked on doors.

"We need affordable rent and stable housing for everyone," the post said.

Maggie Segounis, the candidate for the People's Party of Canada, has not addressed housing directly on her social media accounts. The party pledges to reduce immigration to Canada, which the party says would lessen the number of people seeking to buy a home, and also would end funding for social housing because it "unfairly competes with private developers."

The candidates running in Cambridge are, in alphabetical order by last name:

• Michelle Braniff is the Green Party candidate.
• Lorne Bruce is the NDP candidate.
• Connie Cody is the Conservative candidate.
• Bryan May is the Liberal candidate.
• Maggie Segounis is the People's Party of Canada candidate.

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