As the debate on the housing crisis in Canada continued during the question period in the House of Commons on Tuesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre found themselves caught in a heated exchange.
From Poilievre promoting his “much-acclaimed” housing documentary to Trudeau dismissing most of what his opposition says, the House of Commons was quite the spectacle.
At some point, Poilievre even felt the need to offer Trudeau advice on how to fix the Liberal-made housing crisis.
While Trudeau didn’t sound too keen on Poilievre’s plan, many have been watching each exchange between the two leaders in the leadup to the federal elections.
The most recent House of Commons was nothing short of interesting on Tuesday, with Trudeau and Poilievre trading shot after shot.
After Trudeau said that his government is focused solely on the matter of ensuring people have roofs over their heads, Poilievre made sure to clap back quickly by pleading that people don’t actually have roofs over their heads, referencing Canada’s soaring housing crisis, which was the designated topic for their most recent heated debate in the House of Commons.
He argued that after eight years of the current government’s leadership, housing affordability has gotten worse, not better.
Poilievre stated that housing costs have doubled under the Prime Minister’s watch. He specifically called out the housing bubble in Toronto, saying it is the worst in the world.
And he’s not wrong. Home prices in Canada have more than doubled since 2011 to completely unaffordable levels. This unsustainable housing boom has fueled a bubble that now threatens to burst and drive Canada into recession. That is, if it’s already in one.
Furthermore, he also claimed that Canada has the worst mortgage bubble among OECD countries, placing the blame squarely on the Prime Minister’s failed policies over the past eight years.
To back up his assertions, Poilievre pointed out that nearly 4 million people have watched his groundbreaking documentary “Housing hell: How we got here and how we get out” on the social media platform, X, formerly known as Twitter.
He described the film as an acclaimed expose on how Canada got into this housing crisis and his solutions for getting out of it. Poilievre challenged the Prime Minister to become the 4 millionth view of his documentary. He argued that by watching the film, the Prime Minister could actually gain some insight into common sense plans for reversing the housing affordability crisis that his government has caused through its poor policy decisions over two terms in office.
Meanwhile, Trudeau unfortunately didn’t sound too thrilled about the idea.
In response to criticism from the Conservative opposition leader about the government’s handling of housing affordability, Prime Minister Trudeau defended his government’s record and approach.
He stated that Canadians need the federal government to take bold action on housing, implying that the Conservatives would not act as decisively. He contrasted his government’s approach with the Conservative leader’s, saying that unlike the Conservatives, the Liberals recognize the essential leadership role the federal government must take on housing issues.
Finally, he accused the Conservative leader of prioritizing “clickbait and views” over substantive policy.
But while Trudeau may mock Poilievre’s documentary, Conservatives will keep putting forward substantive ideas while Liberals waste taxpayer dollars.
In response, Poilievre made sure to reiterate his initial points.
It seems highly ironic that on the very same day Poilievre released his hard-hitting documentary exposing Canada’s housing affordability crisis, the Prime Minister put out a video of himself pretending to be a real estate agent in an average starter home. It shows how completely out of touch this Prime Minister is.
Everyone saw right through his acting gig because after 8 years of Trudeau’s leadership, housing costs have doubled across Canada. His government has utterly failed to deal with this crisis.
Canada has the fewest homes per capita of any G7 country despite having the most land to build on. And Toronto has the worst housing bubble on Earth following nearly a decade of this Prime Minister’s policies.
Poilievre even tried to reach across the aisle by offering the Prime Minister and his caucus a private screening of his documentary.
But clearly, Trudeau would rather play childish games and make jokes instead of taking responsibility. While Poilievre was extending an olive branch here, Trudeau once again opted for dismissing any criticism whatsoever.
Once again, the Prime Minister is misrepresenting the Conservative position.
Trudeau claims that the Opposition will repeat past Conservative mistakes, but it is his government that is failing Canadians. The Prime Minister has had 8 years to deal with the housing crisis and he’s made it far more difficult for average Canadians to buy or rent homes.
Trudeau clearly cares more about political attacks and catchy slogans than implementing real solutions. While he wastes time blaming others, costs continue skyrocketing out of control. Canadians are tired of a Prime Minister who is long on rhetoric but short on results.
Conservatives have a vision to make housing affordable again, despite the Prime Minister’s false claims.
Poilievre made sure to waste no time and immediately shot back at Trudeau.
. Poiliever pressured Trudeau over soaring housing costs. And while Trudeau had to read his answer from a piece of paper, Poilievre is offering to inform him on everything he needs. Poilievre once again urged Trudeau to watch his documentary about the Conservative plan regarding the housing crisis.
And while Poiliever’s speech was immediately followed by claps, cheers, and MPs standing up in agreement, a visibly grumpy-looking Trudeau stood up to give his answer to Parliament.
It’s no secret that more often than not, Trudeau’s answers and explanations are welcomed with giggles and laughs across the aisle.
It’s clear that the Prime Minister does ot fully realize the plight of millions of Canadians struggling to afford a home.
While Trudeau bashes the Conservative plan, he also clearly misinterprets it.
Conservatives do not want the federal government to completely abandon housing, but rather to stop interfering in an area of provincial and municipal jurisdiction. The bloated bureaucracy and top-down programs coming from Ottawa have only made housing affordability worse.
Poilievre made sure to once again give Justin Trueau a piece of his mind.
Poilievre unleashed a scathing criticism of Trudeau’s dismissive remarks about the Conservative leader’s documentary on the housing crisis. He accused the Prime Minister of being obsessed with himself and his image, pointing to Trudeau’s mockery of a film he admits to not even watching.
Poilievre suggested it is absurd for Trudeau to dismiss his solutions without bothering to hear them out. He questioned how Trudeau could possibly know if the documentary contains common sense proposals when he hasn’t shown the basic diligence to view the 15-minute video.
Poilievre said his team will even try distributing the documentary on platforms like TikTok if that will encourage Trudeau to actually watch it, knowing his fleeting attention span.
Poilievre reiterated that his documentary lays out tangible ideas for cutting bureaucracy and taxes to make housing more affordable. He implied the Prime Minister is all bluster and attacks, without substance or an actual interest in affordable housing proposals. Poilievre attempted to highlight a contrast between his solutions-oriented approach and Trudeau’s political games and ego.
Overall, Poilievre tried to turn the tables on Trudeau by calling out what he sees as the Prime Minister’s self-centeredness and unwillingness to engage in substantive policy discussion. His critiques questioned both Trudeau’s work ethic and the seriousness of his policy commitments.
In turn, Trudeau was met with boos and yells when he criticized Poilievre’s proclamations as being an “infomercial for how great Pierre Poilievre’s social media skills are, even though it’s completely out of order to directly mention the names of other MPs.
Once again, the Prime Minister reveals his true colors with petty insults rather than addressing the housing crisis seriously. He dismisses legitimate policy discussion as an “infomercial” as if affordable shelter for millions of Canadians is nothing more than a sales pitch.
This smug and condescending attitude epitomizes the failures of Trudeau’s leadership. He belittles the official opposition leader for shining a light on solutions. He claims his government is focused on housing Canadians, yet after nearly a decade of Trudeau’s rule, home ownership is increasingly out of reach for the middle class.
Unlike the Prime Minister’s rhetoric, Conservatives have put forward substantive ideas to empower newcomers, young families and seniors struggling to afford a place to live. We recognize government overreach has worsened this crisis. Canadians deserve better than a Prime Minister who hurls schoolyard taunts while communities cry out for affordable housing.
The Conservative leader speaks directly to Canadians about practical reforms that would cut red tape and rein in reckless spending to cool down housing markets.
And if Mr. Trudeau wants an infomercial, we suggest he examine his own record on housing after 8 years of failure. Canadians cannot afford more of the same from this out-of-touch Liberal government.
