Poilievre calls on Liberals to enact Conservative election pledges on housing

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  Published in House and Home on Tuesday, September 9th 2025 at 13:25 GMT by Toronto Star

Poilievre Urges Liberals to Adopt Conservative Housing Promises

Toronto, September 9, 2025 – In a high‑stakes showdown over Canada’s chronic housing crisis, Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre has fired a salvo at the Liberal government, demanding that it adopt the party’s 2023 election pledges on affordable housing. The call, delivered at a press conference in Ottawa, comes as the Liberals face mounting criticism for falling short of the targets set in their own National Housing Strategy and the government’s “Housing Accelerator” programme.

The Conservative Platform in a Nutshell

At the heart of Poilievre’s argument lies a set of policy commitments that the Conservatives unveiled in their federal platform. The party pledges to:

1. Build 1.2 million new homes by 2035 – a 12 % increase over the Liberal target of 1.1 million by 2030.
2. Cut the cost of home ownership by $100 000 – through a combination of tax credits, reduced mortgage costs, and targeted subsidies.
3. Invest $25 billion in affordable housing – a sum that Poilievre argues is “half of what the Liberals actually spend.”
4. Relax zoning and planning regulations – to allow modular and prefabricated housing to be built more quickly and cheaply.
5. Introduce a new Canada Housing Finance Act – designed to streamline the delivery of federal housing funds and reduce bureaucratic delays.

These promises are underpinned by the Conservatives’ broader strategy of “increasing supply, lowering demand, and removing barriers.” The party argues that the only way to get prices down is to get more units onto the market, and that the federal government has the legal authority to override provincial zoning laws that are often cited as the bottleneck to housing construction.

The Liberal Response

The Liberal government, meanwhile, has repeatedly defended its housing agenda as “progressive, inclusive, and effective.” The Ministry of Housing’s official page notes that, as of July 2024, the government had approved more than 1.6 million new housing units, surpassing the 2020 target. Yet critics point out that many of those approvals are for low‑income rental units, not for first‑time home buyers or middle‑income families.

During a recent interview on CTV’s The Morning Show, Liberal housing minister Mélanie Joly acknowledged that “Canada still has a long way to go” but insisted that the government’s “policy mix, from first‑home subsidies to the Housing Accelerator, is designed to address affordability at every level.” She added that the government is “working closely with provinces and municipalities to streamline approvals and reduce wait times.”

Despite this, the Liberals’ spending on affordable housing has been reported to be less than a third of what the Conservatives propose. According to a 2023 Financial Post analysis, the Liberal budget for the 2025‑26 fiscal year earmarks $8.5 billion for affordable housing, while the Conservatives’ platform calls for $45 billion over the next decade. The gap is often cited as a key point of contention.

Poilievre’s Argument

Poilievre’s press briefing was punctuated by a critique of the Liberal “status‑quo.” He warned that the housing crisis was “a national emergency” that demanded “tough, decisive action.” In particular, he singled out the Liberal Housing Accelerator programme – launched in 2020 to expedite construction and increase supply – as an example of bureaucratic red‑tape that has stalled progress.

“Canada’s housing crisis is not a moral issue; it’s an economic one,” Poilievre declared. “The Liberals have spent years talking about solutions but have done nothing to deliver them.” He added that the Conservatives would “cut the bureaucracy that’s preventing developers from building on time and at a price Canadians can afford.”

The Conservative leader also pressed for the Liberal government to adopt the party’s zoning‑relaxation plan. He argued that provincial zoning laws were “often designed by developers to keep prices high.” He said that the federal government had the authority to pre‑empt provincial jurisdiction on housing, citing the Canada Housing Act as the legal basis for such action.

Context and Public Reaction

The housing crisis has become one of the most heated policy debates in Canadian politics. In the 2022 Census, over 3 million Canadians were on the waiting list for an affordable home, and the average rent in major cities has risen by 12 % over the last decade. Public opinion polls indicate that housing affordability is the top priority for voters, ahead of taxes and health care.

The Conservatives’ housing platform draws support from the Home Builders Association, which has repeatedly called for “streamlined approvals and a clearer regulatory environment.” Conversely, the National Housing Coalition has voiced concerns that the Conservative plan may favor developers over renters and lack robust protections for low‑income households.

A poll by Maclean’s found that 62 % of respondents were “somewhat” or “very” worried about the housing crisis, while only 34 % said they were “somewhat” or “very” satisfied with the federal government’s approach. This suggests that Poilievre’s message resonates with a substantial segment of the electorate.

Looking Ahead

The Liberal government faces a dilemma. On the one hand, they must defend their housing record and demonstrate that they are addressing the crisis. On the other, they risk losing political capital by ignoring a platform that could bring 1.2 million homes to Canadians in just a decade.

The Conservative call to action has prompted several Liberals to call for a “cross‑party review” of housing policy. If a joint committee were established, it might provide a platform for both sides to negotiate a hybrid approach that blends the Liberals’ focus on low‑income rentals with the Conservatives’ supply‑side stimulus.

For now, Poilievre’s challenge remains a rhetorical rallying point. Whether the Liberals will “enact the Conservative pledges” or double down on their own strategy will be decided in the next months, as federal and provincial governments, private developers, and citizens alike keep a close eye on the next chapter of Canada’s housing story.