Analysis shows Poilievre's plan will fail cities

Conservative leader's Bill C-365 isn't 'grounded in reality,' policy review says

- STEPHANIE LEVITZ

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s housing strategy is expected to be included in his next campaign platform. A review by federal civil servants found the plan is short on detail and “fails to take into account renters and other types of housing outside of ownership.”

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s marquee plan to address Canada’s housing crisis uses targets that aren’t grounded in reality and would set municipalities up for failure, argues an analysis of the policy drawn up by federal civil servants.

But Poilievre’s team is standing by its “Build Homes, Not Bureaucracy Act,” saying Infrastructure Canada is misreading the bill, and putting politics before good policy.

Bill C-365 was introduced in the fall of 2023, at the end of a summer in which the Liberals’ record on housing was under intense scrutiny as the realities of Canada’s housing shortage were becoming more apparent by the day.

The behind-the-scenes departmental dive into Poilievre’s bill happened over the ensuing months, with Infrastructure Canada, the department that oversees housing policy, taking a fine-tooth comb to it to understand how its provisions would work if the bill became law.

“In conclusion, the bill is flawed, does not provide definitions for core terms, fails to take into account renters and other types of housing outside of ownership,” reads one summary, obtained by the Star under access to information law.

“There are other solutions to help move the needle on housing in a way that would set up municipalities for success rather than failure.”

Private members’ bills rarely become law but departments do routinely analyze them, since any legislation introduced in the House of Commons could pass.