Through the lens of current U.S, politics, Canada’s dyed-in-the-wool ‘progressive’ party is heading for rock star status. Not that the New Democratic Party (NDP) has apparently noticed how its democratic socialist roots are being tapped to soothe disgruntled American voters who veer leftward.
With a national election looming in Canada, however, it’s time for all Canadian voters to examine the platform of the Left Party and the Right Party. These two positions are held by the Liberals and the Conservatives, two centrist parties that historically can be found to the left or the right of each other, depending upon the mood of the country, its leaders and its politicians.
Unique to Canada is our third, lefter-than-left party, the New Democrats, whose policies are often given decent hearing, then inevitably ignored by voters in national elections. (Not necessarily provincial elections, though!)
Which brings us to the NDP’s national affordable housing plan which outstrips the National Housing Initiative being deployed by the current Liberal government. The NDP promise is to build 500,000 affordable housing units across Canada in ten years.
Impressive, but is it even possible? A Liberal Government MP and long-time social housing activist dismissed the NDP plan, claiming it will ‘bankrupt the Canadian housing industry,’ a concept that has produced some head scratching.
How realistic is a massive government-funded plan to flood the country with affordable housing? How can it possibly bankrupt an entire industry of private companies with their own fish to fry (such as big-city high-rise luxury condo developments), quite possibly deaf to the shaking tin can of subsidy cash, and refusing to flock to the sound like a herd of cats to an electric can opener.
For more on this topic, including historical analysis of housing industry capabilities, read more in CityNews: Baloney Meter: Is NDP housing plan ‘a recipe to bankrupt’ housing providers?
Why is this story of interest to people in other countries? Regardless of the assessment of an NDP plan which is not yet, if ever, in motion, there is ample evidence that national political parties can, with the best of intentions, completely underestimate the resources required for a massive housing build.
A change in government not long ago in New Zealand resulted in a shiny new and absolutely massive national affordable housing initiative: Kiwibuild. For a compendium of Kiwibuild stumbles and bumbles over the last year or so, try: Kiwibuild: Pitfalls And Pratfalls Tarnish NZ Middle Class Affordable Housing Initiative
