麻豆影视

Skip to main content

Poilievre calls Niagara Falls home 'tiny little shack,' apologizes to tenant

Share

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says he has apologized to a woman in Niagara Falls, Ont. for calling her home a 鈥渢iny little shack鈥 in an attempt to illustrate high housing costs in the area.

鈥淗ousing costs under (Prime Minister Justin) Trudeau have doubled, and it is not a global phenomenon, it is unique to Canada,鈥 Poilievre said at a press conference Wednesday.

鈥淚鈥檒l give you just one example. It costs $550,000 for a tiny little shack,鈥 he also said, before listing a specific address. 鈥淵ou can go check it out yourself.鈥

The home 鈥 a three-bedroom, two-bathroom, 1.5-story home on a half-acre lot 鈥 is .

鈥淗e called it a shack. A shack,鈥 the house鈥檚 tenant, Asha Letourneau, told CHCH. 鈥淭hat was a little embarrassing, also because it鈥檚 not.鈥

According to CHCH, Letourneau works as a waitress and saw Poilievre鈥檚 comments online after working a night shift.

鈥淚t鈥檚 not the greatest house on the street, but it鈥檚 definitely not a shack,鈥 she told CHCH.

The home鈥檚 listing describes the house as a 鈥渇antastic north end property located on a quiet street with mature trees and set back on a generous lot.鈥

鈥淭his home is bursting with potential and is just waiting for you to give it your own finishing touches and make it yours,鈥 the listing adds, including details about the finished basement and large yard with room for a pool.

Poilievre has called Letourneau to apologize, his office confirmed to 麻豆影视.

鈥淗er home is in many ways not a lot different than the one I grew up in,鈥 Poilievre said in a statement. 鈥淢y point was that every waitress, welder, barber, and factory worker should be able to afford a home, which is not the case in Canada today, after housing costs have doubled under Trudeau and are often twice what they are minutes away south of the border.鈥

He added that home in particular was used to illustrate the need to 鈥渂uild, build, build鈥 more housing in an effort to rein in current prices.

At his press conference Wednesday, Poilievre pointed out comparative housing prices on the American side of the Niagara River, where for half the price there are listings with 鈥渁 big beautiful multi-level (house), with a garage and a big lot.鈥

鈥淭he answer is that Justin Trudeau鈥檚 policies have inflated the cost of everything,鈥 he said.

According to the real estate listing, the average household income in the area is $89,159, though nearly 40 per cent have a household income of less than $60,000 a year.

About 50 per cent of residents in the area are listed as working in trades and transport, or sales and service.

Meanwhile, other MPs have weighed in online and called out the Conservative leader for his comments.

鈥淧ierre Poilievre ridiculed a working class house as a 鈥榮hack'," tweeted NDP MP Charlie Angus. 鈥淭his dude lives in a 19-room mansion with a personal chef. All paid for by the taxpayer. No wonder he thinks ordinary Canadians live in 鈥榮hacks.鈥欌

Many people have also taken to Twitter to point out the home is seemingly built in the 鈥渧ictory home鈥 or 鈥渟trawberry box鈥 architectural style popularized after the Second World War to house soldiers returning from the war.

The style and layout was used to build several houses quickly to address a shortage both for factory workers during the war, and afterwards, for veterans, and similar homes can still be found across the country. The year Letourneau鈥檚 house was built is not included in the listing.

IN DEPTH

Opinion

opinion

opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike

When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

The British Columbia election campaign is set to officially start today, with Lt.-Gov. Janet Austin issuing the writ for the Oct. 19 vote.

A northern Ontario man is facing a $12,000 fine after illegally shooting a moose near the Batchawan River.

Unusual flippered feet are making their way into the Saint Lawrence River this weekend. Led by underwater explorer and filmmaker Nathalie Lasselin, volunteer divers are combing the riverbed near Beauharnois in Mont茅r茅gie to remove hundreds of tires that have been polluting the aquatic environment for decades.

A sea lion swam free after a rescue team disentangled it near Vancouver Island earlier this week.

Local Spotlight

Cole Haas is more than just an avid fan of the F.W. Johnson Wildcats football team. He's a fixture on the sidelines, a source of encouragement, and a beloved member of the team.

Getting a photograph of a rainbow? Common. Getting a photo of a lightning strike? Rare. Getting a photo of both at the same time? Extremely rare, but it happened to a Manitoba photographer this week.

An anonymous business owner paid off the mortgage for a New Brunswick not-for-profit.

They say a dog is a man鈥檚 best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.

A growing group of brides and wedding photographers from across the province say they have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars by a Barrie, Ont. wedding photographer.

Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.

The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.

It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.

Stay Connected