HALIFAX — Previous Liberal and NDP governments are to blame for Nova Scotia's housing crisis, Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Houston said Wednesday on the campaign trail, boasting that his party's plan to build more homes is bearing fruit.
At a Halifax warehouse the Tories turned into their campaign headquarters, Houston, who is running for a second term as premier, said his government has supported thousands of new housing builds.
“We’re building more, we’re building faster … we have a plan that is working,” he told reporters, as housing affordability has become one of the main themes of the Nov. 26 election.
Nova Scotia is in a housing crisis because previous governments have failed to build enough homes, he said. “I wish these units were built five years ago, 10 years ago, 12 years ago. But they weren’t and we’re trying to catch up.”
Before Houston's Tories took office in 2021, Nova Scotia had been governed by a series of Liberal and NDP governments; the last time the Progressive Conservatives were in power was in 2009.
Prior to last year, however, the province had not built new public housing since the 1990s.
Houston says his government’s plan to support the creation of 41,200 new housing units by 2028 is working. The government is already more than halfway there, he said, with more than 26,000 new starts in progress.
When asked about support for renters who are on fixed-term leases, the Tory leader would not commit to making changes to the existing rental system, which allows landlords to circumvent the five per cent rent cap by leasing for fixed terms.
“Some landlords, big and small, have articulated there is a need for (fixed-term leases),” Houston said, giving the example of a landlord who works in transition housing where fixed-term leases are used to manage temporary living situations.
“Clearly there are abuses of fixed-term leases in some cases. We’ll look for ways that we can support and catch those who are abusing them.”
A Narrative Research poll released Wednesday had Houston's Tories in the lead with 44 per cent support. The NDP were in second place with 28 per cent, and the Liberals in third with 24 per cent. The firm used a probability sample of 800 adult Nova Scotians, surveyed between Nov. 4 and 17. The poll has a margin or error of 3.5 percentage points, 95 times out of 100.
Meanwhile, Nova Scotia Liberal Leader Zach Churchill said Wednesday that if his party is elected to govern next week, it would develop a comprehensive housing strategy for seniors.
The proposed strategy, part of the Liberals' previously announced platform, calls for developing small, walkable communities that offer "wellness supports" for seniors. The platform also says a Liberal government would work with non-profit agencies to ensure there is affordable housing available for seniors.
As well, Churchill wants to make it easier for healthy seniors to stay in their homes longer.
"We'll increase funding for programs that help seniors upgrade their homes to meet their changing needs, whether that's adding a ramp or widening a hallway," he said at Liberal headquarters in Halifax. The platform calls for spending $5 million over four years on adapting existing housing.
"Our seniors aren't just sitting around waiting for long-term care. Our seniors are the bulk of our volunteer force. They're keeping many service organizations going."
Churchill said a Liberal government would also review the property tax system, which he says penalizes seniors who want to downsize. In particular, he said the residential deed transfer tax had to be changed.
The Liberals are also promising to double the province's annual seniors care grant to $1,500 and expand eligibility for the grant by increasing the maximum annual household income threshold to $50,000 from $45,000.
"This will help with paying for the essential expenses like home repairs, phone bills, transportation," Churchill said.
In the past three years, an average of 32,400 seniors received the existing $750 grant each year. The total cost for the program during this fiscal year is expected to be almost $27 million. The Liberals' proposed changes would more than double that cost to about $59 million annually.
As well, Churchill is promising to spend an additional $10 million annually to improve the working conditions of homecare workers, a move the Liberals say would help eliminate a current staffing shortage.
Also on Wednesday, NDP Leader Claudia Chender announced she would negotiate an arrangement with Ottawa to make prescription birth control drugs and devices free. An NDP government would quickly take advantage of the federal pharmacare plan announced in May, ensuring birth control pills, IUDs, implants and morning-after pills are available at no charge, she said.
British Columbia set up a free birth control system last year, while Manitoba recently signed a deal with Ottawa that has led to coverage of contraception medications and devices in their pharmacare plans.
“There is federal money on the table. This can easily be done,” Chender said during a news conference on Wednesday. “Women and gender-diverse people will no longer have to worry about paying to preserve their reproductive freedom.”
According to the Health Canada website, oral contraceptives currently cost about $25 per package, or $300 annually. Intrauterine devices, which are effective for about five years, cost about $500 per unit.
Chender also said her party would expand midwifery services, permitting midwives to prescribe mifegymiso — sometimes referred to as the abortion pill.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 20, 2024.
— With files from Michael MacDonald and Michael Tutton.
Lyndsay Armstrong, The Canadian Press