Pierre Poilievre apologizes for ‘shack’ comment about Niagara Falls home

A home in Niagara Falls has landed in the middle of news and social media since last week when the federal Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre chose it as an example of the problems in the real estate market.

“It costs $550,000 Canadian for a tiny shack,” Poilievre said.

Asha Letourneau, the woman who lives in the home defended her house saying, “he called it a shack, a shack. That was a little embarrassing also. Because it’s not.”

Niagara MPP Wayne Gates says a would-be Prime Minister should be more careful about what he says.

“If you want to be the leader of this country you should be a lot smarter and you shouldn’t be running down Canadians,” said Gates.

There was a huge reaction to our initial story about the conservative leader’s “shack” comment. Our initial report had a million hits on Twitter within two days.

And there are hundreds of comments online, many saying Poilievre made a good point, the housing market is in a mess.

“He called it a shack. A shack. That was a little embarrassing also because it’s not.” A Niagara Falls woman didn’t appreciate what Pierre Poilievre had to say about the house she lives in. @alchchnews reports.https://t.co/ZQt2NDPSN7

— CHCH News (@CHCHNews) July 20, 2023

People in Niagara Falls agreed Monday that shack was the wrong word, but that the market is the problem.

After his comment, Poilievre phoned Letourneau to apologize. He issued a statement saying “My 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.” And “Housing costs have doubled under [Prime Minister] Trudeau.”

In fact, this real estate price boom started long before Trudeau became Prime Minister in 2015.

“The market has been hot for the better part of the last 20 years, prices going up almost every year, bigger and bigger increases,” said Hamilton realtor Michael St. Jean.

Jean says there aren’t enough homes to meet the demand and despite COVID, high-interest rates, and anything else that came along, the dream of home ownership has been disappearing for many people.

“Everything has been thrown at the real estate market in Ontario and nothing has been able to knock it off course,” he said. “If we don’t do something soon, we are actually going to wipe generations out of affording a home.”

Jean says he wouldn’t call that Niagara Falls house a shack, in fact, he says it may be a good deal.

READ MORE: Pierre Poilievre compares Niagara home to a “shack”