HALIFAX — Nova Scotia’s NDP says the provincial government's failure to address the cost of living has made affordability in Halifax comparable to that in Toronto, and the party is calling for urgent action.
At a news conference on Monday, Opposition NDP Leader Claudia Chender said the Progressive Conservative government has work to do to help residents who cannot afford the cost of rent, gas or their mortgage.
Chender referred to data, first reported by CBC, that said the median percentage of before-tax household income that went to housing and transportation in 2024 was about the same for Toronto and Halifax.
Statistics Canada says households in Halifax spent about 31 per cent or more on housing and transportation that year, compared to 30 per cent in Toronto.
"It is now marginally more expensive to live in Halifax than it is to live in Toronto .... That is shocking," Chender told reporters.
Ten years ago, no one would have believed that Halifax could be as unaffordable as Toronto, Chender said, lamenting how many Haligonians who work full-time still can’t afford rent, food or gas.
"People come here for quality of life, and in many cases part of that quality of life is affordability, and we need to preserve that," she said.
The NDP leader said the province could address the high cost of living by imposing rent control, investing in public transit or by building more affordable housing.
"They can start by appointing a minister whose job it is to deal with housing and to make sure that housing is affordable for the Nova Scotians who need it," Chender said.
In December 2024, after Premier Tim Houston's November re-election, his government combined the housing and economic development departments to create a new Department of Growth and Development headed by veteran minister Colton LeBlanc.
"The Tories had a housing minister and things didn't get better. And now they don't have a housing minister and things are still getting worse. But at the end of the day, government has to take responsibility for the affordability of housing in this province," Chender said.
A spokesperson with Houston's office said cost-of-living issues are a result of more than a decade of under-investment, adding that major development cannot happen overnight.
"Housing vacancy rates are rising for the first time in many years, which shows that our plan to get more people in homes, faster, is working .... While increasing the supply of market-rate housing, we’ve also made massive investments in affordable and public housing," Catherine Klimek said in a statement.
Klimek added that government has taken many steps to address affordability issues, including by lowering the provincial portion of HST, creating a school lunch program and indexing and increasing income assistance rates.
"Nova Scotians know that we are a government of action and can trust that we will continue to take every opportunity to build a stronger, more prosperous Nova Scotia," Klimek said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 7, 2025.
Lyndsay Armstrong, The Canadian Press
