New Brunswick election: Greens and Liberals make pledges about housing affordability

FREDERICTON — The high cost of housing was at the centre of the New Brunswick election campaign on Thursday.

Both the Liberals and the Greens announced plans to make housing more affordable if they are elected to govern on Monday.

In Fredericton, Green Party Leader David Coon said his party would reform the property tax system to ensure residents are not hit by large property tax or rent increases. Coon said property assessments in New Brunswick continue to soar because they are tied to industrial rates, a system the Greens would change if elected.

“No one should ever be taxed out of their home,” Coon said in a statement. “We need to overhaul this system …. Homeowners shouldn’t have to bear the burden of subsidizing corporate taxes.”

Coon promised to change the property assessment system for apartment buildings to reward landlords who are charging low rents. To do that, he said, the Greens would base assessments on rental income rather than property value.

As well, the Green leader repeated his promise to impose a rent cap tied to each rental unit, not just the tenant, to prevent new property owners from evicting people in order to cash in on steep rent increases.

In Saint John, Liberal Leader Susan Holt said her party would establish a fund to help the non-profit and community sectors build more affordable housing.

“This fund will allow them to do even more to help New Brunswick close the gap in the housing supply, especially for affordable housing options,” Hold said in a statement, which did not include how much money would be put into the fund.

Earlier in the campaign, the Liberals announced proposed initiatives focused on homeowners, tenants, and private developers. Among other things, the Liberals are promising to build 30,000 homes, impose a three-per-cent rent cap, reform the property tax system, eliminate the provincial sales tax on new, multi-unit developments and increase investments in New Brunswick-built modular housing.

Meanwhile, Progressive Conservative Leader Blaine Higgs planned to make a campaign stop in a mall in Woodstock, N.B., and speak to the media, but he did not have any other public events on his schedule.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2024.

The Canadian Press