The prime minister was not wholly wrong, per se, when he said housing was not something the federal government has “direct carriage of.” But no elected leader has ever improved their situation by attempting to specify limits on their own responsibility for a significant problem.
It is not an enviable position to be in the PM’s seat for this crisis: Ten provinces. Ten different agendas. One core problem.
Again, the primary tool in the toolbox for the federal government on this one is monetary enticements, or if they are feeling nasty, withholding monetary enticements if they don’t get their way. I just don’t know if that is enough to wrangle every level of government into cooperating and coordinating to solve this problem.
To which, people will rightly ask, if they don’t have the tools to solve this, why are we holding them responsible? I think that really comes down to the fact that A) this is a national issue that is affecting the entire country, and B) the average citizen doesn’t really understand or care for jurisdictional divisions.
Frankly, I do think the federal government ought to be helping and coordinating to the best of their ability, but we should recognize that the ball is mostly in the court of the provinces, and by extension, municipal governments.
To that end though, the declaration that “housing isn’t a primary federal responsibility” will hurt the PM politically, even with the follow-up of “But it is something that we can and must help with.” Even if technically correct, the phrase will make him seem aloof to those who are hurt by the housing crisis.