Ottawa, ON – After eight years of Justin Trudeau, the cost of housing has never been more expensive. Since Trudeau was elected, the cost of rent and a downpayment has doubled, taking more and more money out of Canadians’ paycheques. Despite this, his Liberal Government is still failing to build the homes that Canadians desperately need.

Today, Statistics Canada confirmed that this problem will only get worse, reporting that investment in residential construction fell by $194 million in January. To put this in perspective, investment in residential building declined by 23.93% when comparing the last 12-months to the 12-month period just two years ago.

That means that more Canadians are having to live in fewer homes, driving up the cost of housing for everyone. In Ontario and British Columbia – Canada’s two most unaffordable provinces – the decline in residential building investment was even more stark. In Ontario, this investment declined by 12.09% in January 2024 from January 2023 levels, while British Columbia saw a decline of 17.00% over the same time period.

As a direct consequence of Trudeau’s failure to encourage investment, the cost of rent is now 10.5% higher than it was one year ago. This means rent increases are significantly outpacing Canadians’ paycheques. No wonder that an additional one million people will have to access a foodbank this year on top of last year’s record high.

Justin Trudeau just isn’t worth the cost. Only Common Sense Conservatives have a plan to build more homes instead of more bureaucracy and bring homes that Canadians can actually afford.