The mayor of Vegreville, Alta. says he's been given new energy in his battle with the Liberal government over the planned closure of an immigration and refugee processing centre.
Conservative and NDP MPs have pledged to unite in their efforts to aid Mayor Myron Hayduk's cause.
The federal government plans to move the centre from Vegreville to Edmonton in 2018 and take about 230 jobs with it.
(From CBC article: http://www.cbc.ca/beta/news/canada/edmonton/vegreville-immigration-centre-relocate-edmonton-federal-hayduk-1.4213252)
Hayduk hosted a meeting in Vegreville on Wednesday that included Jenny Kwan, NDP MP for Vancouver East, Shannon Stubbs, Conservative MP for Lakeland, and Linda Duncan, NDP MP for Edmonton Strathcona.
"This is kind of like the third wind we got," said Hayduk. "For the town, for council, this has given us a great boost."
Kwan, the NDP critic for immigration, refugees and citizenship, has written a letter to Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen about the Vegreville closure. She calls for Hussen to reconsider moving the centre.
"The decision to close CPC Vegreville is wrong," writes Kwan, the NDP critic for immigration, refugees and citizenship.
"The community stands ready to work with you. I respectfully urge you to listen to its many, many voices and to reverse your plans."
Other communities also concerned
What's happening in Vegreville could happen in any rural community in Canada, Kwan said during her visit to the town 100 kilometres east of Edmonton.
Hayduk said the fight is not only for Vegreville, because other towns and cities are also concerned about losing federal government offices.
"I don't have positive proof of it but the intent is to remove federal offices from rural Canada," he said.
'This will not kill us'
Losing the centre will have a big impact on Vegreville, the mayor said. He foresees economic and social costs for the town of 5,700.
"Vegreville is a very strong community," Hayduk said. "This will not kill us. It's going to cripple us a little bit, but we'd be getting back on our feet."
Immigration centre employees who decide to continue living in Vegreville but commute into Edmonton will be adding two hours of travel time to each workday, he said.
"That is going to take away from the volunteer time. It's going to take away from family time."
During a visit to Edmonton in May, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stood by his government's decision to relocate the centre to Edmonton.
"This is something we need to do to ensure the continued high quality of services that Canadians expect from their government," Trudeau said at the time.
In the House of Commons, members of Parliament pay tribute to the late Kirsty Duncan. The former Liberal MP and cabinet minister died January 26, 2026, at the age of 59. Delivering remarks are MPs Michelle Rempel Garner (Conservative), Alexandra Mendès (Liberal), Claude DeBbellefeuille (Bloc Québécois), Jenny Kwan (NDP), and Elizabeth May (the leader of the Green Party).
OTTAWA — Housing Minister Gregor Robertson tabled legislation on Thursday to establish the federal government’s new affordable housing agency, but acknowledged Build Canada Homes has no set targets on how many homes it will build.
In December, the Parliamentary Budget Officer released a report that estimated the agency’s efforts would result in 26,000 directly funded units over the next five years. The federal government has said the report does not take into account the units that will result from Build Canada Homes’ partnerships with private developers and its $51-billion infrastructure fund.
Still, the PBO estimates federal spending on housing programs is set to decline by 56 per cent, from $9.8 billion in 2025-26 to $4.3 billion in 2028-29, due to expiration of funding for existing programs and cuts set out in Budget 2025.
“Canada’s non-profit housing stock has dwindled to only about four and a half percent of its total housing stock, well below the G7 average,” said NDP housing critic Jenny Kwan, in an interview with the National Post. “Countries that are doing well in addressing the housing situation is sitting at about 20 per cent.”
The federal government introduced legislation that would enshrine its housing agency as a Crown corporation on Thursday, giving it land acquisition authority as well as the ability to partner with private developers — as questions remain over the number of units it intends to build.
The Conservative Party, which has previously been critical of Build Canada Homes for adding a layer of bureaucracy to homebuilding, did not indicate whether it plans to support the bill.
"The legislation was just tabled. I look forward to studying it in detail and I look forward to discussing with colleagues and I look forward to participating in the debate," said Conservative MP Garnett Genuis, who represents the Edmonton-area riding of Sherwood Park-Fort Saskatchewan.
NDP housing critic Jenny Kwan criticized the bill for not defining the term "affordable housing," also noting in a statement it "grants extraordinarily broad powers to Build Canada Homes, allowing it to finance and partner with virtually any person or entity, acquire and develop land, own and operate housing and invest in third-party ventures, all with minimal constraints and limited parliamentary oversight."
She also said turning the agency into a Crown corporation "removes accountability from the minister of housing."