VICTORIA – Local New Democrat MLA Mitzi Dean is celebrating 2,760 units of new homes already built or underway for students, seniors, families, and people experiencing homelessness in Greater Victoria.

The housing across Greater Victoria is part of 20,000 units of new housing underway in nearly 80 communities across B.C.

“People have told us loud and clear that our number one priority should be addressing the housing crisis,” said the MLA for Esquimalt-Metchosin. “We’ve been in government for less than two years, and we’ve already surpassed the previous government’s average annual new housing numbers by over 500 per cent. The BC Liberals clearly didn’t take housing for people seriously, and the crisis that had developed by the end of their watch was tragic for many people. There’s clearly much more work to do, but I’m thrilled with the progress we’ve made so far.”

The province is working in partnership with local and federal governments, non-profits, colleges and universities, Indigenous communities, and private developers to increase the supply of affordable rental housing across B.C.

Dean said that the New Democrat government has acted quickly to address the urgent need for affordable housing, and that they have been working with partners to not just increase the number of homes, but to build the right kind of homes to make life better for people at all ages, stages in life, and income levels.

Dean added that Budget 2018 launched the most significant investment in housing affordability in B.C. history – more than $7 billion over 10 years.

A map showing the location of all announced projects, including those in Greater Victoria is now available online at https://www.bchousing.org/homes-for-BC.

Learn More: https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2019MAH0086-001019