The leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, Pierre Poilievre, tweeted a video of 麻豆精选鈥檚 designated homeless encampment on May 30, sparking a national conversation on homelessness.
In the tweet he compared the people experiencing unsheltered homelessness in the city-maintained site to a third world country and said that the population of people experiencing homelessness had grown 鈥渁fter eight years of Trudeau and the NDP.鈥�
Federally, 麻豆精选 is represented by Conservative Members of Parliament Tracy Gray, who has been in office since 2019 and Dan Albas who has been a Member of Parliament in the Okanagan since 2011. During their time as elected officials, the population of people experiencing homelessness within the city has grown. Gray said that she hears about the issues facing 麻豆精选 residents including inflation, mental illness and addiction every day.
Poilievre responded to an interview request by Capital News to speak about how he would better engage the local conservative leadership to combat the national housing crisis if he were in power.
Poilievre said that if elected, he plans to 鈥渋ncentivize city governments to speed up development permitting, free up land and lower the cost to build homes.鈥�
The video that Poilievre tweeted has been criticized as exploiting vulnerable people for political gain. When asked why he shared the video, Poilievre said that while 麻豆精选 is a beautiful city, people are 鈥渟pilling out into the streets鈥� and living in tents.
Poilievre said that a lack of affordable housing and the opioid epidemic have contributed to the surge in people experiencing homelessness in 麻豆精选.
READ MORE: Poilievre鈥檚 depiction of 麻豆精选鈥檚 tent city 鈥榙isappointing鈥�, says safety director
