NDP leader Jagmeet Singh has been called out for hypocrisy on housing affordability after a real estate outlet revealed his wife makes money on a rental property.
Singh blasted Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre for favouring “rich investors” in the housing market amid rising mortgages and renting costs.
Singh continued his rant against the Conservatives and governing Liberals for permitting “rich investors” to use housing as a ‘get-rich quick’ scheme.
As first reported by True North, 16 of Trudeau’s 39 cabinet ministers are real estate investors or landlords.
Over two-in-five (41%) hold real estate assets for profit-generating purposes — up from 12 ministers from the previous Cabinet — including Trudeau’s previous housing minister Ahmed Hussen, who owns two rental properties in Ottawa.
Though legal, critics argue that a significant representation of landlords and investors in office would create the perception that Parliament is ‘out-of-touch’ with Canada’s housing affordability crisis.
According to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) and Statistics Canada, the country needs 3.5 million new units by 2030 to have affordable housing.
MORE: https://t.co/OX3XnahB5d pic.twitter.com/sKEbYFKQ90
— Rebel News Canada (@RebelNews_CA) July 18, 2023
On Friday, housing publisher Better Dwelling called out Singh on X, formerly known as Twitter, over his wife’s profitable Burnaby, B.C. rental property.
“Dang ole’ rich Conservative & Liberal real estate investors. On an unrelated note, congrats to your spouse on the new rental property,” tweeted the outlet.
According to the Conflict of Interest Act, MPs must disclose such assets to the federal conflict of interest commissioner.
In Conflict of Interest disclosures dated June 23, 2023, Singh’s spouse, Gurkiran Kaur Singh, has “sole ownership of a rental property” in Burnaby with Singh listed as the “guarantor for spouse’s mortgage with RBC.”
It states her sole income source over the next 12 months is “rental income.”
Singh’s office did not respond when True North asked how much his wife charged for rent and how many people lived on the property.
Pierre Poilievre slams Trudeau on housing affordability, stating that the average monthly payment on a new house has increased by “over 100%” since the Liberals took office. pic.twitter.com/nagay5pkc2
— Rebel News Canada (@RebelNews_CA) March 22, 2023
According to a new report from Rentals.ca and Urbanation, the average rent in Canada reached a high of $2,078 — an 8.9% increase from the same month last year.
It also said rent jumped 1.8% from June to July — the most significant monthly jump in eight months. Compared to July 2020, the typical rent jumped $354 a month (21%).
“None of this is an accident,” claimed Singh, who showed disgust at a 200-square-foot apartment in Vancouver going for $2,000/month.
Cora Cook, a Barrie-area esthetician, put her family’s dream home for sale last month after their mortgage payments ballooned from $2,850 to $6,200 since moving into their Springwater home in January 2022.“To have to leave the home that we spent so much blood, sweat, and tears into building — everything was custom-built for our family here — and to now give that up, it definitely feels hard. But now, looking at rentals, we’re looking at rentals for $4,000 a month,” she told Simcoe.com.
https://www.rebelnews.com/jagmeet_singh_s_spouse_earns_rental_income_on_b_c_property_says_disclosure
