Prime Minister Mark Carney’s main focus will be on project development as he sits down with provincial and territorial premiers this week.
Carney told CBC’s Power & Politics in an exclusive interview last week that “major projects” will be his main agenda item for Monday’s meeting.
“We need to move on these nation-building projects. So projects that bring Canada together, projects that diversify our economy, projects that help us export to new markets and really move this economy forward,” Carney told host David Cochrane.
“The ask of provinces, the ask of the private sector is: Which projects do you have that reach those criteria? What we’re going to do is fast-track the approval, truly fast-track the approval, of those projects.”
It feels like Carney is interpreting his mandate as reinforcing the status quo when it comes to winners and losers in the current economy.
When his housing minister was asked if house prices need to come down, he replied:
So they are planning to maintain current prices, but there may be more choice, and they are promising to build some affordable housing (for sale? Rent? Who runs it? How affordable will it be?).
Carney has not publically agreed with Robertson. Never mind he had a spotty record while mayor of Vancouver.
When asked, Carney did not disagree with Robertson either. The Walrus has a really interesting analysis of Carneys explanation.
I would summarize it as “young Canadians may find it easier to buy houses over time” - but that doesn’t mean soon. Nor does it mean they intend to push market prices down, rather they may be trying to stabilize market prices and hope salaries catch up, thanks to inflation.
I believe we’ve discussed this a few times, and I think we’ve drawn different conclusions from similar evidence.
Suffice to say: I really hope Canadians see a substantial improvement in housing costs before the next election.