PM promises cities help to lower housing costs

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is promising municipal leaders federal backing and resources toward efforts to address the high cost of housing that he says is creating a crisis for young and middle-class families.

The cost of housing has risen across the country driven by a mix of low interest rates and demand outstripping supply as Canadians working from home look for more space.

Trudeau says the result is that the cost of owning a home is too far out of reach for too many people in Canada's largest cities, noting it can take 280 months for an average family to save for a down payment in a place like Toronto.

Speaking to the Federation of Canadian Municipalities today, Trudeau says his government would look for ways to change the situation beyond what the Liberals have already laid out.

He notes the federal government alone can't cool housing costs, saying the levers exist at all levels of government.

Trudeau says the Liberals will reach out to provinces and territories to find solutions to ease concerns around housing affordability.