More than a dozen Conservatives wrote to the federal government on behalf of communities in their ridings calling for them to receive funding through the Housing Accelerator Fund тАФ a program Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has promised to cut.
Poilievre’s office released the names of the 17 Conservative MPs on Tuesday after Housing Minister Sean Fraser said about a dozen of them wrote to him in recent months.
Poilievre’s office also says Conservative MPs will no longer support municipalities seeking money through the fund.
The Housing Accelerator Fund is a $4.4 billion program that gives money to towns and cities that commit to reducing red tape in order to build more homes.
A spokesperson for Fraser’s office said┬а177 deals have been struck between the federal government and municipalities, and more than $1 billion┬аhas been dispersed to communities through the fund.
Poilievre had said he would cut this program тАФ which he calls┬аbureaucratic тАФ┬аto partially fund eliminating the┬аGST from sales of┬аnewly-built homes┬аcosting less than $1 million.
His office pointed to a federal document showing the Housing Accelerator Fund has cost $80.9 million to administer since 2017 тАФ┬аslightly more than what the City of┬аHalifax recently received in funding.
The Conservative MPs who, according to┬аPoilievre’s office,┬аwrote letters calling for local funding are:
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Dan Albas┬а(Central OkanaganтАФSimilkameenтАФNicola)
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John Barlow (Foothills)
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Michael Barrett (LeedsтАФGrenvilleтАФThousand Islands and Rideau Lakes)
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Kelly Block (Carlton TrailтАФEagle Creek)
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Frank Caputo┬а(KamloopsтАФThompsonтАФCariboo)
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Adam Chambers (Simcoe North)
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Michael Cooper (St. AlbertтАФEdmonton)
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Branden Leslie (PortageтАФLisgar)
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Rob Moore (Fundy Royal)
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John Nater┬а(Perth Wellington)
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Rick Perkins (South ShoreтАФSt. Margarets)
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Blake Richards (Banff-Airdrie)
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Lianne Rood (LambtonтАФKentтАФMiddlesex)
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Gerald Soroka┬а(Yellowhead)
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Karen Vecchio┬а(ElginтАФMiddlesexтАФLondon)
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Ryan Williams (Bay of Quinte)
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John Williamson (New Brunswick Southwest)
A spokesperson for Fraser said other Conservative MPs requested the funding,┬аincluding Newfoundland MP Clifford Small.┬аHe did not release the names of any other┬аMPs.
Mayor calls Conservatives’ decision ‘irresponsible’
A small-town mayor in New Brunswick said┬аhe’s disappointed that his local Conservative MP will no longer advocate on his┬аcommunity’s behalf as it seeks┬аmoney through the Housing Accelerator Fund.
Alan Brown is the first mayor of Butternut Valley, N.B., a rural municipality about 100 kilometres east of Fredericton.┬а
Brown said Butternut Valley applied for the second round of funding through the fund, hoping to receive between $1 million and $2┬аmillion to build a sewer system and a municipal water supply.
Having a new sewer system would allow the town┬аto build multiplex homes, Brown said. The population stands at around 5,600┬аand the municipality was only incorporated in 2023.
“We’re new,” Brown said. “There’s nothing. There’s no infrastructure at all. To take on that kind of debt to begin with would be untenable”
The local MP, Conservative Rob Moore, wrote in January to offer support for the municipality’s application.┬а
Brown said he’s disappointed to hear┬аthat Conservative MPs will be pulling their support.
“I think it’s irresponsible,” he said. “The responsibility, both ethically, and by having the job, is to advocate for the constituents in their riding. Whether the program available is put in place by your party or another party is irrelevant.
“It really is frustrating.”
Brown said that if the government changes, he would just as willingly apply for a federal Conservative program.┬а
Fraser’s office confirms that since Poilievre announced he would eliminate the fund last week, the federal government has written to warn more than 100 municipalities that┬аalready have made deals to secure funding.
On Tuesday, some Liberal MPs and ministers told reporters that the Housing Accelerator Fund will lead to the construction of more than 250,000 homes in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area.┬а
Minister of Defence Bill Blair, who represents a Toronto-area riding,┬аwarned that if Poilievre cuts the program, municipalities with ongoing financial agreements could be left in the lurch.
“He has promised to cancel the agreements that we have made with municipalities. That could put them in significant legal jeopardy in the future,” he told reporters.