Prime Minister Trudeau stops by Oakville to announce affordable housing measures

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stopped by Oakville on Wednesday morning (Apr. 24) to address the affordable housing crisis and spotlight measures his federal government has included in the 2024 Budget focused on building homes in Halton Region and across Canada.

Trudeau visited the Halton Regional Centre to make the announcement on building homes on public lands alongside Sean Fraser, Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities, and Oakville MP Anita Anand, President of the Treasury Board.

The Prime Minister said governments across the country are sitting on surplus, underused and vacant lands that can be built on. By unlocking those lands for housing, he more homes can be build faster at lower, more affordable prices for Canadians.

“We have a lot of public land in Canada that’s underused or vacant,” said Trudeau. “With Budget 2024, we’re unlocking this land for construction and building thousands of new homes – so that you have a good place to call your own, at a price you can afford.

“We’re cutting red tape, building more homes, and making the housing market fairer for every generation.”

Housing concerns are a top priority in Oakville, Burlington, Milton and Halton Hills, said Gary Carr, Halton Regional Chair.

“Halton Region is one of the fastest growing communities in the country and creating more housing options is a top priority,” said Carr. “We have active and construction-ready projects in our housing portfolio that position us well to increase our assisted and supportive housing supply.

“Strong partnerships and funding from all levels of government are critical to get housing built as fast as possible. We look forward to continuing to work together with our federal partners.”

The Region, as part of its Comprehensive Housing Strategy, is building new assisted and supportive housing units on land owned by Halton.

Current construction includes a new 4-storey building at 265 Kerr St. in Oakville that will provide 52 assisted housing rental apartments for older adults, of which 22 are for supportive housing. Construction is expected to completed this year.

Halton Region also has a project located at 1258 Rebecca St. in Oakville that will provide 14-semi-detached, one-bedroom bungalows for supportive and assisted housing for seniors that is expected to be completed in 2025.

The Region has also invested in 600 new purpose-built rental and assisted living housing opportunities to ensure these future projects will be shovel-ready.

Other sites also continue to be identified and will be added.