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VICTORIA — More affordable housing is needed to keep British Columbia’s economy booming, says Premier John Horgan.

B.C. boasts Canada’s strongest economy and lowest jobless rate, but growth is threatened by a shortage of affordable housing for workers and their families, he said Tuesday.

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He said if a community can’t provide housing for workers then they can’t build much needed housing or sustain local economies.

Photo by CHAD HIPOLITO / THE CANADIAN PRESS

It’s a puzzle the provincial government is trying to solve through last week’s budget and the $7 billion investment it promised last year in a decade-long affordable housing strategy, Horgan told the Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce.

“If you don’t have an affordable home to live in you don’t have much going on,” he said. “If we’re going to just build single room boxes in the sky we’re not going to be able to meet the needs of growing families.”

LISTEN: President and CEO of the Urban Development Institute Anne McMullin and Adjunct Professor at the Center for Sustainable Development Michael Geller join host Stuart McNish to discuss measures taken in the B.C. NDP budget to impact the housing market. Can government’s plan to target the demand side of the housing equation lead to lasting results?