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Statistics show Manitoba housing starts are in decline.
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According to numbers released by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation on Wednesday, 2,576 new homes broke ground between January and June in Manitoba’s major metropolitan areas which is 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 Wayne Ewasko, Leader of the Official Opposition in a release. “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, according to the Tory release, Manitoba’s population has grown by more 18,000 people in the last six months. The Tories also said apprenticeships have been cut in half by the NDP.
“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.”
In early July, the Winnipeg Sun reported that Mayor Scott Gillingham’s promise to build 8,000 new residences in Winnipeg this year was well off target. CMHC numbers showed single housing starts in the city down 23%. Only three other major cities — Victoria, Vancouver, and Hamilton — are worse.
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