Projet Montréal & Transition Montréal present their housing plan

Housing was at the heart of Monday’s election promises from Projet Montréal and Transition Montréal, confirming the important role housing plays in the municipal campaign.

Projet Montréal leader Luc Rabouin made his announcement Monday morning from the site of a social housing project. He hopes to position his party as “the only credible team on the housing crisis.”

The hopeful successor to Valérie Plante presented his housing strategy, which includes a requirement to include 20 per cent affordable housing in any project of 200 units or more.

He also promises to buy back rooming houses, offer enhanced support to evicted tenants, and create modular and transitional housing.

He notably attacked his rival from Ensemble Montréal, Soraya Martinez Ferrada, accusing her of “having a double standard on AirBnB and on social and affordable housing.”

“Montrealers don’t need a mayor who speaks well but isn’t ready to act. We need a mayor who acts. And I am ready,” said Rabouin.

While there was no announcement on Monday from Ensemble Montréal, the party has already made commitments in recent weeks on certain points regarding housing.

Its leader notably promised to establish a maximum 90-day standard for the issuance of building permits and to help Montrealers who wish to acquire their first property in order to stem the exodus from the city.

She also hopes to implement a new financing strategy with the creation of an Affordability Fund, financed by the development of municipal land and by contributions from partnerships with the private sector and non-profit organizations (NPOs).

For his part, Transition Montréal leader Craig Sauvé unveiled his housing plan in the morning, which includes the creation of Bâtir Montréal.

This paramunicipal corporation would be responsible for building public and community housing on municipal land, in partnership with non-profit organizations and cooperatives.

“To tackle the housing crisis, we must act on both supply and demand. That’s exactly what we’re doing today, with Bâtir Montréal, to stimulate the construction of truly affordable housing,” Sauvé emphasized.

The party also plans to establish a $10 million rental assistance bank and a public rent registry, something some civil society organizations have been calling for for several years.

Like Rabouin’s party, Transition Montréal has its sights set on rooming houses to diversify the housing supply.

Regarding permits, Sauvé wants to create a single portal to bring them together, but also to simplify them for cooperatives and non-profit organizations.

–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews