Access to safe, affordable housing is one of the most urgent issues facing our communities today, from Duncan to Langford and everywhere in between. Too many families, students, seniors, and working individuals are being priced out of their own neighbourhoods. The status quo isn’t working.

That’s why Liberal Party Leader Mark Carney has announced a bold new strategy to double the pace of home building in Canada. His plan directly tackles the housing crisis with a mix of long-term investments and immediate action.

At the centre of this strategy is Build Canada Homes (BCH), which would take the lead by investing $10 billion in low-cost financing and grants to support a wide range of housing solutions across the country.

Here’s how that breaks down:

• $4 billion will go toward long-term, fixed-rate financing for affordable homes, giving builders and nonprofits the stability they need to deliver truly affordable units.

• $6 billion in grants will be used to rapidly build deeply affordable housing, supportive housing, Indigenous housing, and shelters.

• Of that $6 billion, $2 billion will be specifically set aside for student and senior housing, in partnership with provinces and territories.

This plan isn’t just about numbers. It’s about people. Here in Cowichan–Malahat–Langford, we see every day how this crisis is affecting our families and neighbours. Rents are skyrocketing. Seniors are struggling to find suitable downsizing options. Young people can’t imagine owning a home here. We need solutions that are ambitious but also rooted in the needs of our communities.

Blair Herbert, the Liberal candidate in our riding, is fully behind this national strategy and is committed to making it work right here at home. He knows a top-down approach won’t work. We need local voices, local partnerships, and local action. That means working with municipalities, First Nations, co-ops, and nonprofits to make sure funding gets to the people who need it most.

Carney’s plan also includes working with provinces and territories to set clear homelessness reduction targets. These would be tied to housing-first investments, better access to treatment, and support for ending encampments one community at a time.

Blair Herbert believes in a Canada where no one gets left behind. Supporting this housing strategy means choosing more homes, more affordability, and more dignity for everyone in Cowichan–Malahat–Langford.