Ex-Vancouver mayor Gregor Robertson tries tackling housing crisis once again, this time as federal minister

CBC News

· Posted: May 13, 2025 8:31 PM EDT | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

Prime Minister Mark Carney revealed his caller furniture connected Tuesday with two Liberal members of Parliament from British Columbia sworn successful arsenic ministers and 3 B.C. MPs named secretaries of state.

The astir high-profile B.C. summation to furniture is Gregor Robertson, who takes connected the relation of curate of lodging and infrastructure, putting him successful the spotlight arsenic the national authorities responds to Canada's lodging crisis. 

Elected past period to correspond Vancouver Fraserview-South Burnaby, Robertson has served astatine each 3 levels of authorities successful Canada, including arsenic a one-time MLA with the B.C. NDP and as mayor of Vancouver.

Carney said Robertson brings "the benignant of experience" needed to assistance tackle Canada's lodging situation aft a decennary arsenic Vancouver mayor — a play that coincided with crisp increases successful the city's location prices.

Housing was a cardinal level constituent for Carney during the election, including a committedness to treble the complaint of residential operation implicit the adjacent decennary to scope 500,000 homes per year.

"We're going to person to alteration however we build. And a batch of that expertise, not exclusively, but a batch of it has really been developed successful British Columbia," Carney said.

WATCH | New Housing Minister Gregor Robertson connected Power & Politics

"Minister Robertson is precise acquainted with it. We're going to incorporated that, but successful a pan-Canadian strategy to truly thrust this."

Federal Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre said Robertson's grounds connected lodging is that prices ballooned during his tenure arsenic mayor, giving the metropolis the astir costly lodging prices successful North America.

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation information amusement that during Robertson's clip arsenic politician of the City of Vancouver, the mean terms of single-family and semi-detached homes roseate 179 per cent crossed the broader Metro Vancouver area.

Robertson was archetypal elected politician successful 2008 aft serving arsenic MLA for Vancouver-Fairview with the provincial NDP. He was re-elected politician successful 2011 and 2014.

During his clip astatine metropolis hall, Robertson faced disapproval for rising lodging costs and not fulfilling his committedness to extremity thoroughfare homelessness successful the metropolis by 2015. 

Robertson told CBC's Power & Politics that Ottawa has to enactment with provincial and municipal governments to usage "all the tools that we person available" to tackle lodging affordability, adding that Stephen Harper's Conservative authorities and the B.C. Liberal authorities were not interested in dealing with the housing crunch during his clip arsenic Vancouver mayor. He said he besides had to woody with the 2008 fiscal crisis.

WATCH | Vancouver metropolis councillor connected erstwhile Vancouver mayor's new federal lodging role

"What's antithetic present is that we've got a premier curate and a caller authorities present successful Ottawa who are saying we request to treble the complaint of construction, we request to enactment crossed each levels of government, we request to engage the private assemblage to bash this," helium said. "We didn't person immoderate of that going backmost to 2008."

Geoff Meggs, who served connected Vancouver metropolis assembly from 2008 to 2017, says Robertson did everything helium could astatine the municipal level to code lodging affordability.

"Where determination whitethorn person been a occupation was that determination was a nonaccomplishment to explicate to radical what the limits were," helium said.

Meggs cited, arsenic an example, Vancouver's inability to develop a government-owned enactment that would concern and physique housing.  

"He did everything helium could successful that regard, but it wasn't sufficient," Meggs said. "And I don't deliberation that we were candid capable astir the limits. Now ... Gregor Robertson is the lodging minister. He doesn't person that excuse."

"I deliberation it volition beryllium just to accidental to him and to Mark Carney —  who truly understands this stuff — 'give america hard deadlines and execute them.'"

Other B.C. appointees

In summation to his relation arsenic lodging minister, Robertson is besides the curate liable for Pacific economical development.

Jill McKnight, different caller MP who won the B.C. riding of Delta, was sworn successful arsenic the curate of veterans affairs and subordinate curate of nationalist defence.

Surrey Centre MP Randeep Sarai is the caput of authorities for planetary development, and Stephanie McLean, MP for Esquimalt–Saanich–Sooke, was named caput of authorities for seniors. Kelowna MP Stephen Fuhr is the caput of authorities for defence procurement.