New housing minister says closing door on newcomers is no solution to housing crunch

Sean Fraser served previously as immigration minister.

Canada’s new housing and infrastructure minister says closing the door to newcomers is not the solution to the country’s housing woes, and has instead endorsed building more homes to accommodate higher immigration flows. Sean Fraser, who previously served as immigration minister, was sworn in Wednesday morning as part of a Liberal government cabinet shuffle aimed at showcasing a fresh team ahead of the next federal election. He comes to the role at a time when strong population growth through immigration is adding pressure to housing demand just as the country struggles with an affordability crisis.“The answer is, at least in part, to continue to build more stock,” Fraser told reporters after being sworn in.

“But I would urge caution to anyone who believes the answer to our housing challenges is to close the door on newcomers.”

Instead, the minister said immigration would be part of the solution to the hous- ing challenge. “When I talked to developers, in my capacity as a minister of immigration before today, one of the chief obstacles to completing the projects that they want to get done is having access to the labour force to build the houses that they need,” he said.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s decision to hand over the federal housing file to the Nova Scotia MP has been praised by experts who say the Liberals need a strong communicator in charge as Canadians deal with an affordability crunch. As part of the shakeup, the housing file has been merged with infrastructure and communities. Fraser said the goal is to look at housing and infrastructure projects together, rather than in isolation.

“If we encourage cities and communities to build more housing where infrastructure al- ready exists or where it’s planned to be, we’re going to be able to leverage more progress for every public dollar that’s invested,” he said. Ahmed Hussen, who became housing minister in 2021, has faced criticism for his handling of the file as the housing crisis has worsened across the country. Hussen is staying in cabinet as minister of international development.“The selection of Sean, I think, is a recognition that the job requires fundamentally an energy and urgency and a passion in order to be able to effectively compete with the message that (Conservative Leader) Pierre Poilievre has put forward,” said Tyler Meredith, a former head of economic strategy and planning for Trudeau’s government. Source: cbc.ca/news