Manitoba Sees Sharp Decline in Housing Starts
Province’s decline worst in the nation under Wab Kinew’s NDP: Ewasko
WINNIPEG — Manitoba is the worst in the country for building new homes this year as data shows housing starts under Wab Kinew’s NDP have taken a nosedive across the province, Wayne Ewasko, Leader of the Official Opposition, said today.
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation reports 2,576 new homes broke ground between January and June in Manitoba’s major metropolitan areas. That’s a 17% decline from this time last year, and down 18.5% from the seven-year average.
“Housing starts are a sign of a strong economy and whether a government takes housing seriously,” said Ewasko. “After nine months in office and an NDP budget that promised to build more housing, today’s numbers show Manitoba’s economy is trending in the wrong direction.”
Whereas housing starts in Manitoba are in a severe decline, housing starts are up 7% nationally. At the same time, Manitoba’s population has grown by over 18,000 people in the last six months. That means Manitoba is only building one new home for every seven people coming into the province, Ewasko noted.
“It’s no surprise Manitoba’s housing starts are down after Wab Kinew cut apprenticeships in half,” Ewasko said, adding the situation will only get worse as Kinew promises to bring even more people into the province without a plan to house them.
“You can’t bring more people to Manitoba when you’re building less homes, and you can’t build more homes when you’re training less people,” Ewasko said. “It’s time for Wab Kinew to show Manitobans a plan to get more shovels in the ground and get ahead of a crisis of his own making.”
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