Expect affordability to play an immediate and central role in the next government.All the parties prioritized cost-of-living issues — a rare consensus that persisted despite a polarized electorate and bitter, angry campaigning. And that consensus gives the next Parliament some common ground that they could use to keep some election promises and show the electorate that yes, they heard them.But with urban centres voting mainly Liberal and many suburbs voting Conservative or Bloc Québécois, the next prime minister will have some careful navigating to do even in this area of shared interests, especially when it comes to the housing market.Affordability — and it means something different to everyone — was a constant throughout the campaign. Both the Liberals and the Conservatives put it at the centre of their platforms and their strategies to win the hearts of anyone concerned about making ends meet — especially the middle class and the suburban and urban voters whose ballots can make or break a campaign.While it lacked definition, tackling affordability also meant tackling voter anxiety — a crucial ingredient for any campaign in Canada hoping to keep at populism at bay.Polling done by Abacus Data put “cost of living” as the top vote-driver at the beginning of the campaign and at the end, with the issue only gaining in importance. While national inflation numbers show that costs are well under control, voters have been telling politicians for months now that household debt is too onerous, housing costs are too high, daycare is out of control, wages are barely budging, and they’re worried about the future.Even Green Party supporters put affordability ahead of climate in terms of importance, according to Abacus.The challenge for politicians was to show more than empathy; they also had to offer solutions to a problem that takes on many different forms — and stand out in the crowd so that voters would see t ...
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