Ottawa, ON – Today’s new report from Rentals.ca depicting a massive increase in rental costs since February of last year paints a bleak picture for renters nationwide, revealing that Canadians are trying to downsize their homes in order to be able to afford rent after eight years of Justin Trudeau’s housing hell.
Rent is now 10.5% higher than it was one year ago. This is significantly outpacing Canadians’ paychecks, at the same time the Liberals continue to make life even less affordable by hiking the carbon tax and the alcohol tax on April 1.
This month’s Rent Report also highlights a concerning new trend in which Canadians are forced to live in smaller accommodations, shared spaces or to take on roommates simply to afford their monthly rent. The number of listings for “shared accommodations” has risen 72% in just the last year, and downsizing housing has meant that the smallest apartments are seeing the largest cost increases, with studio apartment rents rising by a massive 14.8%.
The Liberals have no solutions to the crisis that they have created. They doubled down on their failed policies as rent prices more than doubled, and now their only interest is in jetting around the country, giving cheques to the same gatekeepers that made housing so expensive in the first place in return for photo ops that aren’t leading to increased homebuilding. Canada continues to see housing starts decline at a time when it’s never been more important to build.
Only Common Sense Conservatives will build the homes Canadians need and bring home lower prices for renters and those seeking to fulfill the dream of home ownership.