OTTAWA —
Housing Minister Gregor Robertson says Ottawa is not prioritizing infrastructure funding in Liberal ridings after floor-crossing MP Marilyn Gladu implied earlier this month that she was getting more attention after leaving the Conservatives.
Speaking earlier this month to the Sarnia Observer about her decision to leave the Conservatives and join the Liberal party, Gladu was asked whether she expected any rewards for bolstering the government’s ranks.
According to a transcript posted by the newspaper, Gladu said she wasn’t offered anything directly because that would be illegal. She said that over her more than 10 years on the opposition benches, she noticed MPs sitting in the government “tend to get more for their ridings and their projects.”
Gladu also said she submitted a one-page list of infrastructure priorities in Sarnia-Lambton-Bkejwanong to Robertson after the 2025 federal election a year ago. She said she got a call from Robertson after crossing the floor to discuss what’s needed in her riding.
“It went really nowhere, until I crossed the floor. This is what I’m hoping will be the result,” she told the Observer.
Robertson denied that Liberal ridings are prioritized for infrastructure funding in an interview Thursday with The Canadian Press on the sidelines of an affordable housing announcement in Ottawa.
Robertson said he and his team speak to MPs about infrastructure funding regardless of their party affiliation. With high demand for project support, that’s kept his office quite busy, he said.
“That’s our job as a housing and infrastructure team. We need to deliver for all of the ridings. Doesn’t matter what party, doesn’t matter what region, we’ve got to be delivering for everybody,” Robertson said.
Prime Minister Mark Carney joined Robertson and Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe in the city’s Barrhaven suburb Thursday to talk about a previously announced deal on affordable housing development.
The federal government says its agreement with Ottawa will create 1,100 rental units in eight affordable housing projects, most of which are set to start construction by the end of the year. An extra 2,000 units are expected to be built on surplus federal land in the nation’s capital, up to 40 per cent of which are expected to be below market-rate housing.
The total deal is valued at roughly $400 million, with the feds providing $150 million and the City of Ottawa contributing the rest in the form of property tax exemptions on federal lands.
The federal government says Build Canada Homes — Ottawa’s affordable housing agency — has so far set up a pipeline of 10,000 units for construction across the country since its launch in September.
The Liberals have legislation making its way through the House of Commons that would turn Build Canada Homes into a Crown corporation. Carney said that move would give the agency the “legal authorities” it needs to execute the Liberals’ housing agenda.
“We’re glad that we have a majority now. We can move that forward more rapidly,” Carney said.
Robertson said becoming a Crown corporation would give the agency more financial tools to take on debt and buy and sell land for affordable housing developments.
He also said it would allow the federal government to attract talent with “better compensation packages that are not available through department or government jobs.”
“So it does offer more flexibility, more opportunity, open more doors basically to get more affordable housing built,” Robertson said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 23, 2026.
Craig Lord, The Canadian Press
