New Brunswick declares it's 'leading the pack' on housing, despite below average results

CBC
·4-min read
All provinces have identified the need to build new housing quickly to reduce shortages and ease rising prices. So far in 2024, housing starts in New Brunswick rank seventh among provinces and last in the Maritimes. (Brian McInnis/CBC - image credit)
All provinces have identified the need to build new housing quickly to reduce shortages and ease rising prices. So far in 2024, housing starts in New Brunswick rank seventh among provinces and last in the Maritimes. (Brian McInnis/CBC - image credit)

The New Brunswick government says it is "leading the pack" in Canada on housing, even though key pieces of evidence it cites in support of that claim show it to be closer to the rear among provinces tackling the issue.

In a prepared speech delivered in the legislature earlier this month, New Brunswick's Housing Minister Jill Green responded to critics who charge the province has been moving too slowly in battling the housing crisis.

She told by MLAs that New Brunswick has emerged as a national leader in residential construction.

"Here's some evidence to that fact," said Green, as she laid out her argument in a 15-minute address on May 16.

Green pointed to statistics showing New Brunswick experienced 750 new housing starts during the first three months of 2024.

Jill Green, minister responsible for housing in New Brunswick, speaking to reporters at the legislature on May 11, 2023.
Jill Green, minister responsible for housing in New Brunswick, speaking to reporters at the legislature on May 11, 2023.

Jill Green is the minister responsible for housing in New Brunswick. In a speech earlier this month, she told MLAs the province is 'leading the pack' on housing, even though key statistics suggest otherwise. (Radio-Canada)

That included work beginning on 467 new apartment units, 196 single-detached family homes and 87 other living spaces, including townhouses and semi-detached homes.

Combined, it is a provincial record for the first quarter of the year and more than double the number of new housing starts in New Brunswick during the same period in 2023.

"For the opening three months of 2024, housing starts increased by 108.3 per cent," said Green, about the year-over-year change.

She noted that was an all time high for New Brunswick, "with data going back as far as 1948."

In addition, Green also highlighted figures showing that in 2023, New Brunswick led all provinces in growth in spending on residential building construction.

Nearly $3 billion in public and private funds were spent to build and renovate housing in the province during 2023, which also set a provincial record.

"New Brunswick has led the country in growth and set a record in 2023 for investment in residential building construction," said Green who then characterized the combination of statistics as showing New Brunswick's record on housing has risen to the top.

"We're different. We're leading the pack," she said.

Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Sean Fraser said he won't stop working directly with municipalities to build more homes faster.
Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Sean Fraser said he won't stop working directly with municipalities to build more homes faster.

Federal Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Sean Fraser told a House of Commons committee earlier this month that housing starts in New Brunswick have fallen well behind neighbouring jurisdictions of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)

However, although the specific figures cited by Green were accurate, both showed New Brunswick to be lagging behind national averages.

Green was correct that 750 housing starts in New Brunswick during the first three months of 2024 represented a new provincial record but, at a rate of 89 new units per 100,000 population, it also ranked seventh among provinces.

The national average during the period was 130 housing starts per 100,000 population, 46 per cent higher than New Brunswick's rate, with several provinces well above that average number.

Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia ranked first and third in the country during the period, with housing starts of 224 and 202 per 100,000 population respectively, more than double the figures for New Brunswick cited by Green.

At a committee meeting in Ottawa earlier this month, federal Liberal Housing Minister Sean Fraser credited Progressive Conservative provincial governments in both Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia for much of that success.

Housing Minister Rob Lantz says staff in his department are moving quickly to have an emergency shelter set up in Summerside.
Housing Minister Rob Lantz says staff in his department are moving quickly to have an emergency shelter set up in Summerside.

Prince Edward island is the province actually leading the pack on new housing in 2024, not New Brunswick. P.E.I. Housing Minister Rob Lantz set a goal of 2,000 new housing starts per year. For its size, it's about 60 per cent higher than New Brunswick's target and already appears to be within reach. (Tony Davis/CBC)

He said decisions in each province to drop the provincial sales taxes on new apartment building developments has been accelerating residential construction to levels that New Brunswick, which has declined to lower its own taxes, has been unable to match.

"Starts may be up in New Brunswick but they are not increasing at the same rate as in other provinces that have made those measures," said Fraser. 

"The assessment of the first three months in Nova Scotia, for example, shows that in the first quarter there has been more than 2,100 housing starts. It's blown by the all-time record."

Similarly, the record level $3 billion in residential construction in 2023, also cited by Green as a sign of New Brunswick leading the way on new housing, trails most jurisdictions.

The amount is a provincial record, but ranked sixth among provinces on a per capita basis and also fell below the national average.

A request to interview Green about the claim New Brunswick is leading the pack on housing, given its below average results in key areas, was declined.

Instead, the province issued a statement reiterating its record as a success.

"Our province is experiencing record-setting housing development," read the statement. 

"In the first three months of this year, we've had the highest housing starts since 1948."

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