Head of mayors' group pushes back on Poilievre, says Canadian cities 'not gatekeepers'

Mayors are community builders, not gatekeepers, Canada's municipal governments said Monday as their spokesperson pushed back against language Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre often uses to attack city leaders.

Scott Pearce, president of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, was speaking at a news conference in Ottawa ahead of the spring budget to call on the federal government for more infrastructure money.

When asked about Poilievre's proposed housing plan, Pearce appeared to reject the Conservative leader's repeated claim that cities are the ones standing in the way of building more homes.

«Canadian mayors are not gatekeepers. We're community builders. And I don't build houses. Developers build houses,» Pearce said. «So when the interest rates are at what they are, it's more difficult to have builders build.»

Poilievre has been riding a wave of support since the summer as he focuses his message on affordability and housing. He often rails against «gatekeepers» in cities he says are snarled in red tape, high fees and delays.

Regardless of who is in power federally, municipalities will need more infrastructure spending to ramp up home construction, Pearce said.

«Whether it's Mr. Poilievre (or) Mr. Trudeau, whoever the government is, the infrastructure funding is the most important thing if we're going to be successful in building the 5.8 million houses we need,» he said.

The federation is open to working with all parties, added Halifax Mayor Mike Savage, the current chair of the group known as the Big Cities Mayors' Caucus.

The Canadian Housing and Mortgage Corp. estimates Canada needs to build 5.8 million homes by 2030 to restore affordability, a goal that economists at CMHC have conceded will be very difficult to