
New housing minister says he lacked tools to tackle homelessness as Vancouver mayor
OTTAWA — Canada’s new housing minister says he didn’t have the tools he needed to address housing affordability issues when he was mayor of Vancouver — the country’s most expensive housing market.
Gregor Robertson is attending his first cabinet meeting today as Prime Minister Mark Carney’s minister of housing.
Robertson is defending his record as Vancouver mayor — despite the surge in housing prices during his time in office — by arguing that many cities across Canada saw similar surges during that period.
Robertson says he wasn’t getting the help he needed from higher levels of government when he was mayor.