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“So that’s the situation we have. In the last 15 years, only 10% of housing starts have been for rental, even though 30% of us rent,” she said.

“But a more shocking number is 20% of [private] renters are paying half of their income for their rent, which is incredible because you have very little left over.”

Mr. Dauphin, in an emailed statement to the Financial Post, said municipalities “support the federal government’s commitment to jobs, growth, and Canadians’ financial security.”

“For that reason, we believe that as the government sets its priorities for the next two years, it should address the high-cost of housing in Canada, the most urgent bread-and-butter issue facing Canadians today,” he said.

“We’re not expecting the Speech from the Throne to include specific new policy proposals, but it should recognize the strain housing costs are putting on Canadians, and set the stage for concrete action in at least two areas: protecting and expanding rental housing; and protecting communities from the impact of expiring operating federal housing agreements.”

But Finn Poschmann, vice-president of research at the think-tank C.D. Howe Institute, said Ottawa has “little jurisdiction and almost no practical capacity to deliver housing.”

“Past attempts to do so, through CMHC for example, have produced financial disasters for the people who participated and put CMHC in grave financial situation.” he said.

“We wouldn’t want to see that again, nor the federal mortgage agency deeply underwater and as similar U.S. agencies have been, through the course of much more recent financial disasters.”