Today, we're here to tell you about our first announcement of what will be in our budget 2024. But before I get into the details, I want to step back and talk to you about what this upcoming budget is going to be all about. In one word, fairness. Why? Because for Canada to succeed, we need everyone to succeed. When you look out at the economy these days, it just doesn't feel very fair. With inflation and with high housing costs, with so much uncertainty here and across the world, it feels like there are some people doing really, really well, but a lot of people feel stuck or worse, like they're falling behind. And when you look at who's feeling it the most, it's hard not to think about the young people trying to get their lives started in these complex times.

Young people may be able to pay their university tuition costs, but soaring rents are limiting their options. And after they graduate, they face pressures their parents did not.

Maybe young people want to start a family, but they don't know how they can afford something bigger than a one-bedroom apartment and with the costs of groceries, monthly bills and all the other realities of life going up, up, up, well, that can make it hard to save for the future, hard to get ahead.

Canadians are facing a lot of challenges, but we have solutions for those challenges.

Now, the foundation of a good life is stability. That starts with a place to call home. We know that one of the biggest issues people are facing is being able to afford a place to live, whether you're making mortgage payments or rent. This morning, I want to talk about renters. In today's Canada, more people are renting than ever before and that number is growing at double the rate of those able to buy a new home compared to a decade ago. Nearly two thirds of young Canadians rent their homes and they spend a greater share of their income on housing than other generations. And in cities like Vancouver, where we are today, this is even more true. This is the most expensive city to rent in in the country. Renters matter and young Canadians put a lot of their hard-earned money towards rent. We think that should count for a lot more. So, today, we're announcing new protections for renters and new pathways to homeownership.

As part of our upcoming budget, we're going to create a Canadian Renters Bill of Rights. It would create a nationwide standard for lease agreements, give renters a clear history of apartment pricing so they can bargain fairly and make sure they have more agency. We're also going to launch a new legal aid fund that will protect tenants against unfairly rising rents, renovictions and bad landlords. And finally, we're going to help you make your rent count towards you becoming a homeowner. We'll do that by making sure that the fact that you pay your rent every month, which remember, is a pretty significant amount of money that that payment and that demonstrated reliability that you've shown over months and years is taken into account when you apply for a mortgage. We're going to amend the Canadian Mortgage Charter and call on landlords, banks, credit bureaus and others to make sure that your rental history is taken into account in your credit score. This will make it easier to qualify for a mortgage or even qualify you at a lower rate and just think about all the other things that’ll come from having a better credit score, a loan to help you start a small business, for example.

We’re going to make the economy fairer for tenants with the new Canadian Renters’ Bill of Rights. We are also implementing a new tenants’ litigation fund. These two measures will help keep rents fair, prevent renovictions, and give tenants greater power in the market. In addition, we're adopting a measure to ensure that rent paid over months and years is taken into account in tenants' credit scores, so that they can secure a mortgage and maybe even a better interest rate. These solutions will help protect renters, many of whom are young, and help them become homeowners.

In a world where you pay more than ever for rent, what could be a better demonstration that you're a good investment and what is a better investment than in you, young Canadians? You make up the largest share of our working age population. You work hard, you're creating, inventing and developing incredible things that are building the future of Canada. You hustle, you are the heartbeat of the economy and Canada's success in the 21st century depends on you. Now, there are renters of every age across this country and these protections and opportunities will be there for every one of you. This is just one of the things that we're going to be doing in this upcoming budget to build an economy that is fair for every generation.