Manitoba’s Progressive Conservatives are blaming the NDP government for a decline in new home construction.
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. data shows that single-detached house starts in Manitoba cities of 10,000 people or more dropped six per cent from January to June this year compared to the same period last year, and that total housing starts fell 17 per cent year over year.
The CMHC reported in mid-July that 2,576 new homes broke ground between January and June in metro areas. That’s down 18.5 per cent from the seven-year average, the PCs said in a news release Wednesday.
“The NDP have fallen behind on their building starts, they’re asking for more people to come into Manitoba, but there’s no plan” to house them, interim Tory leader Wayne Ewasko told the Free Press.
After nine months in office and an NDP budget that promised to increase housing, Premier Wab Kinew’s government has failed to deliver, Ewasko said.
“It’s a lot of talk and not a whole lot of action,” he said.
The NDP fired back, suggesting the PCs were “highlighting their failure over the last seven years.”
“One of the first things the previous government did when they were elected was to cut the rental housing tax credit, and they did not create the right conditions to incentivize adequate housing for Manitobans,” a cabinet communications spokesperson said in an email.
“Our government is moving forward in a new direction, with a strong emphasis on building housing. Budget 2024 included a powerful new incentive to build new rentals, and we significantly reduced property taxes for (the) vast majority of homeowners.”
Housing starts are a sign of a strong economy and whether a government takes housing seriously, Ewasko said, noting Manitoba’s population has grown by more than 18,000 people in the last six months but the New Democrats have no plan to spark more construction.
In March, the province reduced the number of construction apprentices working with journeypersons to a 1:1 ratio from what had been 2:1 under the Tories.
“We need more people working in the trades to build these houses for more Manitobans coming in,” Ewasko said.
Manitoba Home Builders’ Association president and CEO Lanny McInnes was in agreement Wednesday, saying the new ratio is a concern “that will likely have an impact down the road.”
For now, though, CMHC numbers for June show housing starts are “back on pace” following some ups and downs since the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020, said McInnes.
“There were some positives in terms of single-family housing starts both in the city and, especially, outside the city,” he said. “Single-family housing starts outside Winnipeg’s metro region doubled in terms of pace.”
The association isn’t sure what’s driving that increase and plans to closely monitor it, he said, noting multi-family housing starts that were down at the start of the year picked up in June.
The pace of housing construction in the province appears to be returning to normal following a spike at the height of the pandemic in 2021-22 then a slump in response to high inflation and rising interest rates, he said.
The Bank of Canada lowering its key lending rate twice this year — and signalling that rates won’t increase in the foreseeable future — provides “a level of stability” for people thinking about buying or building a home, McInnes said.
Ewasko said he doubts Manitoba’s housing situation will improve under an NDP government.
“We’re hoping things are going to get better but we’re not seeing how it’s going to happen,” he said.
The NDP says housing starts fluctuate year over year and are impacted by several factors.
“We are only partially through the current construction season and Manitoba’s full year ranking for 2024 remains to be determined,” the cabinet spokesperson said.
Manitoba’s neighbouring provinces also saw a decline in housing starts this year, the CMHC reported. They decreased by 14 per cent during the first six months of 2024 in both Ontario and Saskatchewan. Alberta, meanwhile, saw a 54 per cent increase in new builds. On average, Canada saw housing starts increase by seven per cent.
The CMHC forecast a decline in housing starts in Manitoba at the start of this year followed by a “modest increase.”
“We expect housing starts to decrease slightly in 2024, as high financing costs continue to weigh on developers in the near-term,” the corporation predicted in its Winnipeg housing market outlook.
“Anticipated reductions in mortgage rates are likely to motivate potential buyers, leading to modest increases in both sales and prices this year.”
carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca
Carol Sanders
Legislature reporter
Carol Sanders is a reporter at the Free Press legislature bureau. The former general assignment reporter and copy editor joined the paper in 1997. Read more about Carol.
Every piece of reporting Carol produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.
Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.