Housing in the spotlight for many Yukon voters ahead of federal election

Cody Schilling says he's been looking for a place to rent for months now. 

The young Whitehorse father wants to find a home for himself, his young daughter and his girlfriend, but he's had no luck so far.

"It feels kind of not the greatest, not being able to find a house for me and my family," he said, adding that he's had to move in with his parents in the meantime. 

"I don't really have much of a plan, other than keep trying." 

Schilling said housing is a top issue for him this federal election, and he isn't alone. From Old Crow to Watson Lake, the Yukon has been in the midst of what some advocates have described as a housing crisis for years now, with the most recent data from the Yukon Bureau of Statistics indicating a vacancy rate of just more than one per cent.

"We always have housing problems," Haines Junction resident John Semple told CBC News. 

"I'd like to see that fixed."

While federal party leaders have all listed housing as a priority, the executive director of the Safe at Home Society in Whitehorse said she thought national conversations on the issue need to be more "holistic." 

"So far, there hasn't been much mention of homelessness from what we can tell — it's largely been around initiatives related to home ownership, building, you know, getting red tape out of the way," Kate Mechan said. 

"Not to say that that isn't a critical part of the equation, but we want to hear that there's going to be a balance for all Canadians and things that hit on people's ability to access homes, even if that's in the rental market."

Mechan said she'd like to see commitments related to creating community housing and investments for supportive housing, as well as increased protection for renters. She also said that housing, as a topic, can't be viewed in isolation. 

"Most everything starts with housing," Mechan said.  

"A lot of the issues that we are experiencing here in Whitehorse, for example, I think really do stem from people's lack of safe, affordable, appropriate housing that will meet their needs. So some of the safety-related issues that are coming up for people, health-related issues, someone's ability to keep a job or go back to school.… Those things are all connected to whether you have a home."

What the candidates say

CBC Yukon asked the four candidates running for the territory's MP position what they would say to someone like Schilling and how they would address the topic of housing during an election forum Tuesday. Here's how they responded, with answers edited for clarity and length.

Brendan Hanley (Liberal Party)

First of all, I have encountered, perhaps not Cody, but certainly many in Cody's position or Cody's parents. So this is definitely a pressing issue for Yukoners and the problem is, we got way behind in housing over many years and we are in the midst of catching up while we have a growing population. I will just briefly point out many projects underway and many of which have been federally supported — for example, Project 1096 in Whistle Bend. So with a $25-billion plan under Mark Carney, this will provide financing for innovative prefab housing, $10 billion in low-cost housing, lots more on helping municipalities to get through the barriers to getting houses built, eliminating the GST for first time home buyers and rental supports as well. 

Gabrielle Dupont (Green Party)

I work in the building industry, so I see what's going on. Right now, there's quite a bit of red tape for builders to build affordable homes, and this is affecting everyone. And we really need to make sure that red tape is taken care of and as a Green MP, I would love to work on this. And we really need to also make sure that our local governments have the resources to get more land development projects out the door. Yukoners are used to having a wide range of housing options and I want to see that happening again. And I wonder why all of these measures that I'm hearing, why were they not implemented sooner? We can work on this tomorrow if we're really committed to this problem. 

Ryan Leef (Conservative Party)

We recognize that there is a housing crisis but the ultimate question is why? We weren't in that position in 2015. Young people could have a dual-income family earning and be able to afford all of their groceries, all of their bills, and look forward to being able to afford a down payment on a reasonable home in this territory and across the country. And in the last nine years, that dream has slipped away. There's no mystery, really, why that happened — inflation got driven up with debt and deficit spending. We're going to provide opportunity for our tradespeople to start to build this economy outward. We're going to reduce GST and taxes on brand new home builds. But we do have to have strong economic management first and foremost. 

Katherine McCallum (NDP)

My kids are 21 and 19 and they cannot afford to leave home. They are both living in basement suites because there's just nowhere to rent and there's absolutely no way they can afford to save up for a home of their own under these circumstances. A good job should be enough to get you a decent home that fits your family's needs. The government needs to use every tool at its disposal to help people find homes that they can afford. We need to give non-profits more funding so that they can buy and build more homes and keep them affordable. We'll build rent-controlled homes on public land and give people CMHC-backed, government-backed low-interest mortgages so that they can afford to get into the housing market and qualify for a mortgage.