Everyone deserves to succeed. But today, for too many younger Canadians, doing as well as your parents or better – doesn’t seem possible. The middle-class dream feels out of reach. Your hard work isn’t paying off like it did for previous generations. Your paycheque doesn’t go as far as costs go up, and saving enough to go after your dreams seems harder and harder. It doesn’t have to be this way. Everyone deserves a fair shot at success.
One of the biggest pressures on young people right now is housing. This is particularly true for renters – where it feels like the deck is stacked against them. They are facing skyrocketing rents, renovictions, unfair competition, and a lack of housing options. While we’ve taken bold action to build more homes, faster, improve access to housing, and make homes more affordable, we know there is more to be done.
The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, today announced measures from the upcoming Budget 2024 to make the playing field fairer for renters and make it easier for them to become homeowners.
These measures include:
- Launching a new $15 million Tenant Protection Fund. This would provide funding to legal aid and tenants’ rights advocacy organizations to better protect tenants against unfairly rising rent payments, renovictions, or bad landlords.
- Creating a new Canadian Renters’ Bill of Rights, developed and implemented in partnership with provinces and territories. This would require landlords to disclose a clear history of apartment pricing so renters can bargain fairly. We will also crack down on renovictions, create a nationwide standard lease agreement, and give renters more agency.
- Making sure renters get credit for on-time rent payments. Renters deserve credit for the money they put toward rent over the years, especially when it comes time to apply for a mortgage for their first home. We’re going to amend the Canadian Mortgage Charter and call on landlords, banks, credit bureaus, and fintech companies to make sure that rental history is taken into account in your credit score.
This is about protecting renters. But this is also about generational fairness – making sure Millennials and Gen Z, who are most likely to rent, get a level playing field in the rental market. This is just one of the things that we are going to be doing in this budget to build an economy that is fair for every generation. Alongside these measures, we’re building more homes faster, making life more affordable, and creating good jobs, to make sure every generation can get ahead. We will relentlessly fight for Canadians – taking concrete action to strengthen the middle class and make life better for everyone.
