Sean Kilpatrick Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stands during question period in the House of Commons in West Block on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Feb. 5, 2019.

OTTAWA — An NDP motion calling on the federal government to build 500,000 affordable housing units over the next 10 years was defeated soundly Tuesday by Liberals and Conservatives. The motion, moved last week by NDP MP Sheri Benson, asked the federal government to commit in its upcoming 2019 budget to complete 250,000 of those units before 2024.

A statement released by the NDP after the vote chastised the government for being unwilling to adopt an NDP plan "aimed to bring immediate relief" to Canadians impacted by the housing crisis. "If the Liberal government made different choices, we could bring relief to all Canadians and start building new affordable housing units in this year's budget," Benson stated in the release. "Mr. Trudeau calls the housing situation a crisis; but when it's time for him to act with urgency, he fails to do so." Last year, Liberal MPs defeated a similar NDP motion that adopted language used by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that "housing rights are human rights." Parties debate over authority on housing issue The federal government announced a 10-year $40-billion national housing strategy in November 2017 with ambitious targets that included reducing homelessness by 50 per cent. Most of the money will flow after the next election, a technical detail that has encouraged the NDP to push the government to implement immediate measures. Opposition parties have been challenging the government on the effectiveness of the plan. The NDP have warned that a dearth of information about the number of housing units built, repaired and maintained hinders MPs from holding the government to account on the file. Watch: Where to find Canada's priciest 1-bedroom rentals