Fraser acknowledged the housing situation as a “serious challenge” in an interview with Reuters but hinted at a possible solution on the horizon.

The Housing Minister has underlined the government’s commitment to existing policies: “The solution to tackling difficulties with housing is not to reduce incoming people, but rather to increase housing inventory.”

The appointment of Fraser as Housing Minister appears to be a very deliberate decision by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. A strategy to demonstrate commitment to addressing the country’s current cost-of-living crisis.

Housing starts are projected to fall. From 262,000 to 212,000 units in 2022 and 2023. This can be explained by the supply chain disruption caused by the epidemic, as well as rising construction costs.

The opposition Conservatives have clung to the topic of housing, with leader Pierre Poilievre highlighting numbers last week showing that rent and mortgage payments had nearly doubled since the Liberals assumed power in 2015.

Critics have also blamed part of the crisis on an ambitious immigration strategy that aimed to bring in over 400,000 individuals, or around 1% of the country’s population while failing to meet their housing demands.

The Bank of Canada’s recent decision to hike rates to a 22-year high in July, combined with a moderated inflation rate of 2.8% in June, down from a peak of 8.1% in June 2022, sets a more constructive tone for the building industry.