Housing affordability ranks high in priority on provincial and national levels: poll

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – If you were setting the agenda for our political leaders, what would your top priorities be?

A new poll from Abacus Data finds one hot-button issue here in Metro Vancouver is getting attention at both the provincial and national levels.

Housing affordability is number one for people in BC. Abacus CEO David Coletto says while that isn’t the case for every other province, the issue has crept up in the national ranking.

“That’s one that, only a few years ago, wasn’t near the top of the list. As I said, it’s top in British Columbia, and it’s near the top in Ontario and in Quebec. Affordability of housing is an issue that’s now competing at least at the local level, with ones that we typically see — which is the economy and health care,” he says.

Nationally, housing affordability came second to availability of health care. Long-term economic future was third and job opportunities for young people was fourth.

Abacus also looked at how we feel about our communities and what we feel is getting better or worse.

“Generally speaking, most Canadians across the country are quite satisfied with where they live. Most describe their community as at least average, but the majorities say it’s a good community or one of the best in Canada. So, at a high level, I think most people feel good about it. Where we see some differences are on some specifics and things that maybe people would like to see improved or things that people are unhappy with.”

Abacus measured 29 different areas that affect people in their communities, and Coletto says most people say things haven’t really changed in the past five years.

“For the most part — this is where the challenge is — more people are saying more things are getting worse than better, but I guess the good news is that when we look at things like quality of life and key public services like public transit [and] waste management. People say things are getting better than worse — it’s some of the things that I think we’ve been hearing a lot about.

“Regardless of where you live in Canada, things like affordable housing, things like local taxes, the current economic condition and jobs for young people are the areas where far more people say things are getting worse in the last five years than better, and those are the areas that we see right across the board. When people say they’re unhappy, those are the things they point to. And when they say what would the priority be for government regardless of level, those are the things that people want government to focus on. So, overall, we’re feeling good. But there are these areas, particularly in British Columbia for example, where housing affordability is the top issue for people who live in municipalities across the province.”

The poll was done for the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, which had its Big City Mayors Conference a few weeks ago.

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