The housing crisis has become “the number one economic and social problem in Quebec”, estimates the president of the Desjardins Movement, at the risk of harming the “assets” of the Quebec economy to resist the current slowdown and prepare for recovery in a few years. quarters.
“The economic growth cycle which is ending has been one of the longest in the last 60 years. The slowdown is therefore not a surprise to anyone and we expect economic growth to resume by the beginning of 2025,” indicated Guy Cormier during a speech Thursday to an audience of business people. brought together by the Canadian Club of Montreal.
Even if “we are generally in a good position in Quebec, with strategic assets and companies which have grown enormously in scale and which are strengthening the position of Quebec which is facing a slowdown, we also have serious problems such as the crisis of housing,” according to the president and CEO of Desjardins Group.
With the sudden drop in residential construction starts in the Montreal region and elsewhere in the province, the housing crisis is becoming “extremely serious” for Quebec society and the economy, insisted Mr. Cormier.
“This decline in construction [résidentielle] is particularly worrying because it occurs in the middle of a housing crisis, which has a domino effect in society: more expensive available housing, loss of quality of life for families, dramatic rise in homelessness. »
In the economy, this housing crisis accentuates “the difficulties for young people to get started in life, the difficulty for regions to attract workers who want housing and, therefore, to justify investments in businesses”, said mentioned Guy Cormier.
Ultimately, the housing crisis “causes a weakening of economic development potential” throughout Quebec, and that is why “it must be tackled forcefully.”
Housing assistance program well received
In the opinion of the president of the Desjardins Movement, a housing construction assistance program like that of $1.8 billion for 8,000 new housing units within five years which was announced during the recent budget update in Quebec constitutes “damn good news”.
Guy Cormier also mentioned that Desjardins has partnered with the Quebec government to facilitate financing for the construction of 1,500 affordable housing units by 2030.
But he was quick to add that “we need more, much more.” To be able to house all our citizens, we all have to be more daring.”
For the moment, “we are still beating around the bush,” lamented Mr. Cormier, while what is needed is “a rapid move to action to increase construction starts and shorten delivery times.”
In his opinion, “the solutions to encourage the revival of residential construction are known”. He cited “reducing approval times and costly requirements” on projects, as well as “simplifying regulations” and “reviewing the entire zoning and approval process” affecting housing construction.
But to implement these solutions, the President and CEO of Desjardins Group considers that it has become “essential that all partners in the housing ecosystem come together to establish a clear game plan.”