By Canadian Press

Singh promises action on affordable housing after winning in Burnaby South

Feb 26, 2019 | 12:09 AM

BURNABY, B.C. — New Democrat Leader Jagmeet Singh says he will use his new position as a member of Parliament to pressure the Liberal government to take action on the affordable housing crisis in British Columbia.

The former Ontario legislator won a byelection in Burnaby South on Monday, giving him a voice in the House of Commons for the first time since he became NDP leader in the fall of 2017.

He says everywhere he went while campaigning in the riding, he heard that the top concern was housing, and he’s calling for the fast-tracking of investments to build new co-operative and non-market housing.

Singh says the federal government used to build housing decades ago, and he wants to return to that time, adding his other priorities are fighting climate change and implementing universal medication coverage.

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The 40-year-old beat Liberal candidate Richard T. Lee by more than 3,000 votes.

It’s not the first time a federal New Democrat leader has come from the city in Metro Vancouver as Tommy Douglas won a byelection in Burnaby-Coquitlam in 1963 and represented the area until 1968.

The Canadian Press