New Brunswick declares it's 'leading the pack' on housing, despite below average results

The New Brunswick government says it is"leading the pack" in Canada on housing, even though key pieces of evidence it citesin support of that claim showit to be closer to the rearamong provinces tackling the issue.

In a prepared speech delivered in the legislature earlier this month, New Brunswick's Housing Minister Jill Greenresponded to critics who charge the province has beenmoving too slowly in battling the housing crisis.

She told by MLAsthat New Brunswickhas emerged as a national leader in residential construction.

"Here's some evidence to that fact," said Green, as she laid out her argument in a 15-minute address on May 16.

Green pointed to statistics showing New Brunswick experienced 750 new housing starts during the first three months of 2024.

That includedwork beginning on 467 new apartment units, 196 single-detachedfamily homes and 87 other living spaces, including townhouses and semi-detached homes.

Combined, it is a provincial record for the first quarter of the yearand more than double the number of new housing starts in New Brunswick during the same period in 2023.

"For the opening three months of 2024, housing starts increased by 108.3 per cent,"said Green, about the year-over-year change.

She noted that was an all time high for New Brunswick, "with data going back as far as 1948."

In addition, Greenalso highlighted figures showing that in 2023, New Brunswick led all provinces in growth in spending on residential building construction.

Nearly $3 billion in public and private funds were spent to build and renovate housing in the province during 2023, which also set a provincial record.

"New Brunswick has led the country in growth and set a record in 2023 for investment in residential building construction," said Green who then characterized the combination of statisticsas showing New Brunswick's record on housing has risen to the top.

"We're different. We're leading the pack," she said.

However, althoughthe specific figures cited by Green were accurate, both showed New Brunswick to be lagging behind national averages.

Green was correct that 750 housing starts in New Brunswick during the first three months of 2024 represented a new provincial record but, at a rate of 89 new units per 100,000 population, it also ranked seventh among provinces.

The national average during the period was 130 housing starts per 100,000 population, 46 per cent higher than New Brunswick's rate, with several provinces well above that average number.

Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia ranked first and third in the country during the period, with housing starts of 224and 202 per 100,000 population respectively,more than double the figures for New Brunswick cited by Green.

At a committee meeting in Ottawa earlier this month, federal Liberal Housing Minister Sean Fraser credited Progressive Conservative provincial governments in both Prince Edward Islandand Nova Scotia for much of that success.

He said decisions in each province to drop the provincial sales taxes on new apartment building developments has been acceleratingresidential construction to levels that New Brunswick, which has declined to lower its own taxes, has been unable to match.

"Starts may be up in New Brunswick but they are not increasing at the same rate as in other provinces thathave made those measures," said Fraser.

"The assessment of the first three months in Nova Scotia, for example, shows that in the first quarter there has been more than 2,100 housing starts.It's blown by the all-time record."

Similarly, the record level $3 billion in residential construction in 2023, also cited by Green as a sign of New Brunswick leading the way on new housing, trails most jurisdictions.

The amount is a provincial record, but ranked sixth among provinces on a per capitabasis and also fell below the national average.

A request to interview Green about the claim New Brunswick is leading the pack on housing, given its below average results in key areas, was declined.

Instead, the province issued a statement reiterating its record as asuccess.

"Our province is experiencing record-setting housing development," read the statement.

"In the first three months of this year, we've had the highest housing starts since 1948."