Housing Minister Sean Fraser confirmed that he is ready to negotiate with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, who plans to adopt Quebec's model for federal relationships with provinces when it comes to issues like housing.

During an interview with CTV's question period host, Vassy Kapelos, Fraser stated that he is "ready to take the call," but Alberta must come to the table by matching federal investments and implementing housing reforms.

He added, "If they want to connect and say, we should have a deal at each province’s level, we will coordinate with them and put the necessary measures in place to streamline the home-building process," and that he would be receptive to that call throughout the week.

Since the end of March, the federal government has made several housing announcements to be included in the federal budget on April 16, such as a new $6 billion Canadian Housing Infrastructure Fund. Under the program, $1 billion will be allocated to municipalities to stimulate additional housing, and $5 billion will be directed to provinces and territories that meet certain requirements or conditions.

However, many provinces, including Alberta, have described the proposed new measures as excessive.

Quebec Model

Smith delivered a speech to governors in Ottawa on Friday in favor of a strong and free Canada Network, one day after introducing the "Stay Out of Backyard" bill, which aims to prevent Alberta municipalities from negotiating deals directly with the federal government.

Smith told the crowd in Ottawa, "My message to Ottawa is that federal politicians, and the Prime Minister in particular, need to do their jobs and stop trying to do mine."

Smith also stated, "When you see in Alberta that we will take a stand akin to Quebec’s, which is ‘no thank you.’ We don’t need your political advice on school lunch programs, pharmaceutical care, and dental care."

She added, "Just give us the money and trust that we will be able to deliver it."

In October, Quebec reached a $900 million agreement with Ottawa under the Housing Acceleration Fund, pledging to double the amount to build affordable housing over the next five years.

In Quebec, the law prohibits the federal government from bypassing the province to negotiate such agreements directly with municipalities.

When Kapelos asked him why Quebec is treated differently than Alberta, Fraser reiterated Alberta's call for commitment to reforms.

"If Alberta wants to move forward and say, 'We will accept your investments, we will implement reforms, and we will make home building easier,' then we will have those conversations with the goal of reaching a good faith agreement, but we 'haven't seen that yet.'

During the interview, the Housing Minister also discussed the federal government's new housing strategy, saying the federal government is "asking (Canadians) to believe in the plan" when Kapelos asked him why voters should trust the Liberals' track record.

"We are putting forward a full and comprehensive set of policies that we believe will actually solve the housing crisis," Fraser said. "That will help build more homes at a pace we have not built them before."

According to a new report from the Parliamentary Budget Officer, Canada needs to build an additional 1.3 million homes by 2030 to close the housing gap. Meanwhile, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) states that Canada needs to build 3.5 million homes by 2030 to restore affordability.