A group of city officials from across the country met in Vancouver on Wednesday to release a national plan for housing and homelessness.
The group calls on the federal government to create a national housing plan and renew its funding commitment to affordable housing.
Vancouver mayor Sam Sullivan and London, Ontario mayor Anne-Marie DeCicco-Best were joined by Federation of Canadian Municipalities President Gord Steeves and Toronto city councillor Giorgio Mammoliti.
"Too many Canadians are forced to choose between food and rent, clothes for the kids or making the mortgage payment," Sullivan said in a statement. "The high cost of housing also undermines the ability of people who want to get ahead but cannot afford a secure and decent place to live."
An FCM report released last week confirmed earlier and troubling trends, most notably that finding adequate housing was becoming an issue even for the middle class.
There is chronic, systemic homelessness continues in Canada's urban areas, according to the group.
The plan proposes three scenarios, but one in particular is the FCM's preferred choice, at a cost of $3.35 billion annually. The group calls for the financial burden to be shared by the federal and provincial governments.
