The leader of the Conservative Party of Canada addressed an audience about what he called growing concerns around affordability and crime on Vancouver Island during a town hall meeting at the Cowichan Exhibition Centre in Duncan.
Housing and rent remain among the key factors affecting affordability on Vancouver Island, and the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation said while some markets have seen higher vacancy rates and slower rent growth, affordability challenges persist.
“In 2025, Vancouver Island’s housing affordability remained challenging, though experiencing slight improvements in some areas due to stabilizing rents and falling prices,” the corporation said in a statement. “Areas like Victoria are showing modest gains in affordability metrics but still rank poorly when compared to other markets.”
Pierre Poilievre said owning a home is a dream for many, but rising costs are putting that dream out of reach.
“About 80 per cent of young people who don’t own a home believe they never will,” he said. “No home means they’ll never be able to build up home equity or start a family, instead they’ll be paying for rent that keeps rising.”
He said the cost of everyday expenses isn’t rising; rather, he said, the value of the Canadian dollar is declining, affecting how people in the region spend their money and decide what is essential.
“The cost of things isn’t going up. The value of our money is going down,” he said. “Home prices since 1981 have quadrupled.”
According to Canada Crime Report, which tracks police-reported crime data, some communities on Vancouver Island have crime severity indexes above the national average, although specific regional statistics vary.
The report showed areas such as Campbell River and Duncan among communities with higher reported crime severity indexes, though trends differ by category and year.
Poilievre also referenced an incident in Duncan involving pellet guns and homeless people, which he said illustrates a situation that is out of control.
“They should be locked up; they should pay the price for that,” he said. “Also, 80 overdoses in one day — this is madness.”
