MPP Fife: Ontarians stuck in an endless bad news cycle with no affordable housing in sight

WATERLOO – MPP Catherine Fife, NDP critic for Finance, responded to the Financial Accountability Office (FAO)’s Economic Monitor:

“Shelter costs are going up, housing starts are going down – Ontarians are stuck in an endless cycle of bad news, while affordable housing slips further and further out of people’s grasp.

“When people keep losing their housing and have nowhere to turn, that’s not the mark of a strong economy that’s working for the people. People are stuck waiting – for affordable housing, for their day in court, for reliable transit. And with this government, they’ll keep waiting.

"You deserve a government that invests in you. If Ford can't build affordable housing. it's time he got out of the way for an NDP government that’ll get Ontario back to building."

Quick Facts:

• Rising shelter costs contributed about 70% of the inflation experienced in the last quarter.
• Ontario’s unemployment rate rose for the sixth consecutive quarter, reaching 6.9% in 2024 Q3, which is the highest since mid-2021.
• Housing starts are down: Housing starts in 2024 Q3 totaled 20,600 units in Ontario, a 16.9% decline from the 24,800 units started in 2023 Q3.
• The latest economic indicators suggest mixed results for Ontario’s economy in the third quarter of 2024, with gains in employment and retail and wholesale trade, but weakness in housing starts, manufacturing sales and exports.