For some voters in smaller Manitoba cities, housing is a top election priority
Major federal parties have pledged GST cuts on home sales, public-backed mortgages
Although housing is often seen as a big-city problem, some voters in smaller Manitoba cities say housing is their focus in this federal election — from affordability to the types of homes the next government should prioritize.
Jaired Heinrichs is hoping to buy his first home, budgeting monthly to save for a down payment.
He and his wife of nearly two years recently moved into a new but "small" apartment in Winkler, a rapidly growing city in the southern Manitoba riding of Portage-Lisgar. It had a population of nearly 14,000 in 2021, according to Statistics Canada.
At his kitchen table, Heinrichs pencils in dollar figures for gas, groceries, rent and more on a spreadsheet. After essentials, he says he barely has anything left over.
"When rent is as much, or if not more, than a mortgage payment, [it] makes it very hard for a young couple like me and my wife, Laura, to save up" for a house, Heinrichs said last week.
The 25-year-old construction worker and welder acknowledges he's made mistakes when it comes to his finances but says he's frustrated about being priced out of today's housing market.
He aims to continue training to become a certified heavy-duty diesel mechanic, but he's also looking to the next federal government to help make first-time homeownership more achievable — and help put his dreams of owning an acreage and a home like his parents within reach.
"That way it gives young Canadians like myself and my wife a chance to get forward in life," he said.
"I feel like I'm really spinning my tires."
Meanwhile, Valdine Alycia, 40, is also concerned about their future housing prospects.
Alycia lives with an episodic and progressive neurological disability in Thompson, a city with a population of around 13,000 in the northern Manitoba riding of Churchill-Keewatinook Aski.
Alycia, who uses they/them pronouns, made changes to their childhood home, including having a smart home system installed, to make it easier and safer to stay there.
In the future, they might need an elevator, grab bars in the bathroom and wider hallways to continue living independently as their disability progresses, Alycia said.
However, the accessible housing they'll one day need is scarce in Thompson, they said.
"I would love to see all of the parties committing to Indigenous housing and housing for people with disabilities," said Alycia, who is Métis.
About eight million Canadians aged 15 and older live with a disability, according to Statistics Canada. With this in mind, Alycia said they're alarmed there haven't been more specific pledges for accessible housing and people with disabilities during the campaign leading up to the April 28 election.
"I believe that Thompson is completely overlooked in all of the conversations when it comes to housing," they said.
Party promises for housing
All major federal parties have announced commitments for housing.
The Conservatives have pledged to cut GST on new homes up to $1.3 million and incentivize municipalities to boost home building by at least 15 per cent each year.
The Liberals say they'll eliminate GST for first-time homebuyers of properties under $1 million and launch an agency called Build Canada Homes that will act as a developer, overseeing affordable home building in Canada.
The NDP says it would fund a $16-billion strategy to construct affordable and rent-controlled homes, prevent large corporate landlords from buying up affordable homes, and require the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation to offer low-interest, public-backed mortgages.
University of Winnipeg urban and inner-city studies professor Shauna MacKinnon said she finds parts of the Liberal and New Democrat platforms appealing, but thinks details on social housing in the major party platforms are missing.
MacKinnon, who is also a member of the Right to Housing Coalition, says her organization is calling on the next federal government to build at least 50,000 subsidized rent-geared-to-income units each year for the next decade.
MacKinnon criticized the Liberals' national housing strategy, launched in 2017, for allocating too much to private sector housing and median market rentals.
"Housing has been built. It's just not the housing that is addressing the needs of the … lowest-income households, so we really need to shift the investment to ensure that that is the priority housing," MacKinnon said.
As for Heinrichs, he likes the Conservatives' plan and says would appreciate a GST cut on his first home, along with regulations on rent, but questions why the cost of homes are so high.
"Why are our homes costing over $1 million?" he said. "That's ludicrous."
He also questioned the helpfulness of a previous Liberal government announcement from last year that saw first-time homebuyers become eligible for 30-year mortgage amortization periods, up from the standard 25-year term.
Although the longer timeframe would reduce monthly payments, "the longer the loan, the more interest you pay," Heinrichs said.
Homes in the Pembina Valley, which includes Winkler, are going for an average $325,000, local real estate agent Dave Kasdorf told CBC News last month. New houses are selling for an average of roughly $400,000, with prices increasing three to five per cent annually, he said.
"First-time homebuyers are having a real hard time getting into the marketplace," said Kasdorf.
Heinrichs and his wife hope to purchase a below-average-priced home within five years, and he's asking for more help from Canada's next leader.
"Please just remember us bottom-of-the-barrel Canadians that are just … getting by, and just please make it affordable for us to live again — because it's not."
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With files from Sanuda Ranawake