Good morning.
Thank you, Minister Robertson, for the introduction.
And thank you to Mayor Sutcliffe and so many of our colleagues from the National Capital Region caucus for joining us this morning in Nepean.
Mayor, you and I have been strong partners from the very beginning.
On my first day as Prime Minister, we had breakfast at John’s Diner in Wellington West to talk about our shared priorities – yours as Mayor of Ottawa, mine as Prime Minister, and then soon, as Member of Parliament for Nepean.
We spent much of our time talking about housing. How we need to build more of it – faster, more efficiently, more sustainably, and at a lower cost.
Because that is how we build a stronger Ottawa – and a stronger Canada – for all.
A home is the foundation of a good life.
Yet for too many Canadians, it has remained out of reach for too long.
Now, over the last year, we’ve started to see some progress.
By the end of 2025, housing affordability in Canada had improved for two years straight – the longest streak ever recorded.
The percentage of income Canadians are spending on mortgage payments has fallen to its lowest level in nearly four years.
And asking rents are down to a 35-month low, with the asking rent-to-income ratio having fallen to its lowest level in over six years.
These are encouraging signs – but there is still much more work to do.
Because the reality is, for decades, Canada has not built enough affordable housing. And now, young Canadians are paying the price.
Too much of what has been built simply isn’t affordable – driven up by development charges, taxes, and high construction costs.
Today, the average Canadian household is still spending more than half their income on mortgage payments.
We need all hands on deck to address these challenges.
That’s why, back in September, our government launched Build Canada Homes – a new federal entity that will supercharge housing construction across Canada.
It is doing that in three ways:
- First, by partnering with the private sector to plan, manage, and construct new affordable housing and to fast-track large-scale housing projects across the country.
- Second, by providing predictable, low-cost financing to support non-market and Indigenous housing providers to grow affordable and community housing in Canada.
- And third, by catalysing the creation of an entirely new Canadian housing industry that uses modern building methods like factory-built and prefabricated construction.
Since its launch in September, Build Canada Homes has already committed to more than 10,000 units through 13 partnerships across Canada – with over 1,400 homes already under construction or breaking ground in the next two months.
That means new, affordable homes across Canada – in Ottawa, Toronto, Winnipeg, Edmonton, Gatineau, and Halifax.
To build on this momentum and further lower the cost of building affordable homes, Canada’s new government tabled legislation to unlock $1.7 billion in federal funding for provinces and territories. And through the Build Communities Strong Fund, we are investing billions of dollars to build housing-enabling infrastructure and reduce municipal development charges – charges that the buyers of new homes ultimately pay.
Last month, we put that funding to work through a new agreement with Ontario.
This agreement will enable municipalities to cut development charges in half for three years – reducing the upfront costs of homebuilding and giving builders the certainty they need to build.
Here in Ottawa, this measure alone could bring down the cost of building a two-bedroom apartment by more than $15,000, and a new average single-family home by more than $28,000.
To further bring down costs for Canadians, Canada’s new government eliminated the GST on homes up to $1 million for first-time homebuyers – saving Canadians up to $50,000 on the purchase of their first home. This tax cut officially came into place last month.
And we’re working with provinces and territories to multiply those savings.
With the help of new federal funding, the Government of Ontario is matching our government’s GST cut with provincial HST relief on all new homes valued up to $1 million – saving buyers in Ottawa as much as $130,000 on the purchase of their new home, combined with the development charge reduction that could be as much as $158,000 in savings.
That’s real money back in your pocket.
And it’s a clear example of what’s possible when all orders of government work together.
In December, Mayor Sutcliffe and I announced an ambitious new partnership between Build Canada Homes and the City of Ottawa.
A partnership to accelerate the construction of up to 3,000 affordable and mixed-income homes in Ottawa through a joint investment of $400 million.
Under this agreement, the City of Ottawa will reduce or waive development charges, permit fees, and property taxes on priority projects for 2,000 new housing units.
And through Build Canada Homes, our government will deploy financing to help unlock an additional 1,000 housing units in the City’s portfolio.
In December, Mayor Sutcliffe and I made a commitment to build more homes, faster, for the people of Ottawa.
Today, I am proud to announce that Build Canada Homes has approved eight new housing projects that will build more than 1,100 new rental homes in the City of Ottawa – already exceeding our original target by nearly 10%.
We are fast-tracking these projects to get shovels in the ground in the next few months, and I thank Ottawa City Council for their vote of confidence in this work last night.
Construction right here on Geyser Place will begin later this year.
This project will build more than 100 new rental units for middle-class Canadians.
Beyond Nepean, we are building in Centretown, Sandy Hill, Overbrook, and Lincoln Heights.
Homes across this city – built by Canadians, for Canadians.
It’s not just what we build. It’s how we build.
We are building inclusively, in full partnership with First Nations, Inuit, and Métis.
We are building in solidarity with workers, creating good union jobs.
We are building sustainably, because reducing emissions is not just a moral duty, it’s an economic imperative.
And above all, with our Buy Canadian Policy, we are building Canadian – with Canadian steel, Canadian lumber, and Canadian workers.
That is how we build Canada strong.
Through Build Canada Homes, our government is building at scale and speed so all Canadians have a safe and affordable place to call home.
This is part of our larger economic plan to build a stronger, more sustainable, more resilient economy – one that delivers more certainty, security, and prosperity for all Canadians.
Our plan is working.
Despite all the shocks, Canada is expected to have the second-fastest growing economy in the G7 this year and next. Wages are growing at twice the rate of overall inflation.
But, at the same time, we know that the cost of living is still high and some of the biggest payoffs will take time.
So, we’re supporting Canadians who are under pressure from everyday expenses with a boost today and a bridge to tomorrow.
That’s why we temporarily cut the federal fuel excise tax this week – bringing costs down at the pump by up to 10 cents per litre.
Combined with our government’s elimination of the consumer carbon tax on day one, we have lowered the price of gas by up to 28 cents per litre.
We’ve cut income taxes for 22 million middle-class Canadians – saving families up to $840 each year.
And we’ve launched the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit, which will deliver direct payments to more than 12 million Canadians – up to $1,890 per family. That’s money deposited straight into bank accounts, starting with the first cheques on June 5th.
This is how we are building a stronger Canada – a Canada that is not just strong, but good.
A Canada that is not just prosperous, but fair.
A Canada that is not just for some, most of the time, but for all, all the time.
A Canada where everyone can get ahead.
We’re building Nepean strong, Ottawa strong, and Canada strong for everyone.
Thank you.