Gregor Robertson Named Minister Of Housing

After a few years away from politics, former Mayor of Vancouver Gregor Robertson is now returning in full force, capping off his recent win in the Vancouver Fraserview—South Burnaby riding with a position in Prime Minister Mark Carney's cabinet as Minister of Housing and Infrastructure.

Robertson was sworn in Tuesday morning and will also be the minister responsible for Pacific Economic Development Canada.

Robertson's political career began in 2005, when he was elected as an MLA for Vancouver-Fairview as a member of the BC NDP. In 2008, he announced that he was running for mayor and became the mayoral candidate for the Vision Vancouver municipal party, which was formed in 2005 by former members of the Coalition of Progressive Electors (COPE) and currently holds no seats on Vancouver City Council.

Vision Vancouver went on to win seven seats on Council in the 2008 municipal election, in addition to Robertson winning the mayoral seat. In 2011, Robertson was re-elected again with seven other Vision Vancouver members. In 2014, Robertson was re-elected for a third term along with six other Vision Vancouver members. That streak came to an end after Robertson announced he was not running for re-election in the 2018 election, which was ultimately won by Kennedy Stewart (against current-Mayor of Vancouver Ken Sim).

During his time as Mayor of Vancouver, Robertson and Vision Vancouver were known for being green liberals and were responsible for implementing the Greenest City 2020 Action Plan in 2011 that set a series of 10 sustainability goals for Vancouver. Prior to entering politics, Robertson was a Co-Founder of Happy Planet, an organic juice company. After exiting politics, he joined green construction products company Nexii Building Solutions as Executive Vice President of Strategy, Partnerships, and Impact. Since he left politics, Robertson has also served as a Global Ambassador for the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy.

While serving as mayor, however, Vancouver's homelessness crisis really started to take shape, particularly in the now-notorious Downtown Eastside, which could become an easy point of criticism in his new role as Minister of Housing. Working in Robertson's favour, however, is likely the fact that he has experience in both municipal and provincial politics, something that is becoming more and more prevalent as all levels of government are increasingly focused on addressing the housing crisis.

Robertson succeeds Nathaniel Erskine-Smith, who replaced Sean Fraser in late-2024 after Fraser announced he was not going to be running for re-election. After the polls flipped in favour of the Liberals, Fraser then changed his mind and ultimately won his Central Nova riding for the fourth consecutive time. He has now been appointed Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada.

Carney’s Cabinet:

Including Robertson, Carney will have a 28-member cabinet, 24 of whom are new faces. The cabinet will then be supported by a group of 10 secretaries of state.

Cabinet:

Shafqat Ali, President of the Treasury Board
Rebecca Alty, Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations
Anita Anand, Minister of Foreign Affairs
Gary Anandasangaree, Minister of Public Safety
François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Finance and National Revenue
Rebecca Chartrand, Minister of Northern and Arctic Affairs and Minister responsible for the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency
Julie Dabrusin, Minister of Environment and Climate Change
Sean Fraser, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency
Chrystia Freeland, Minister of Transport and Internal Trade
Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture and Minister responsible for Official Languages
Mandy Gull-Masty, Minister of Indigenous Services
Patty Hajdu, Minister of Jobs and Families and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario
Tim Hodgson, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources
Mélanie Joly, Minister of Industry and Minister responsible for Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions
Dominic LeBlanc, President of the King’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister responsible for Canada-U.S. Trade, Intergovernmental Affairs and One Canadian Economy
Joël Lightbound, Minister of Government Transformation, Public Works and Procurement
Heath MacDonald, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food
Steven MacKinnon, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons
David J. McGuinty, Minister of National Defence
Jill McKnight, Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence
Lena Metlege Diab, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship
Marjorie Michel, Minister of Health
Eleanor Olszewski, Minister of Emergency Management and Community Resilience and Minister responsible for Prairies Economic Development Canada
Gregor Robertson, Minister of Housing and Infrastructure and Minister responsible for Pacific Economic Development Canada
Maninder Sidhu, Minister of International Trade
Evan Solomon, Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario
Joanne Thompson, Minister of Fisheries
Rechie Valdez, Minister of Women and Gender Equality and Secretary of State (Small Business and Tourism)

Secretaries of State:

Buckley Belanger, Secretary of State (Rural Development)
Stephen Fuhr, Secretary of State (Defence Procurement)
Anna Gainey, Secretary of State (Children and Youth)
Wayne Long, Secretary of State (Canada Revenue Agency and Financial Institutions)
Stephanie McLean, Secretary of State (Seniors)
Nathalie Provost, Secretary of State (Nature)
Ruby Sahota, Secretary of State (Combatting Crime)
Randeep Sarai, Secretary of State (International Development)
Adam van Koeverden, Secretary of State (Sport)
John Zerucelli, Secretary of State (Labour)

Appointment Notices

Former Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robinson Confirmed As New Federal Housing Minister

​Gregor Robertson was Mayor of Vancouver from 2008 to 2018 and returned to politics this year as the Liberal candidate for Vancouver Fraserview—South Burnaby.

Carney’s Cabinet:

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Gregor Robertson was Mayor of Vancouver from 2008 to 2018 and returned to politics this year as the Liberal candidate for Vancouver Fraserview—South Burnaby.

The four overarching goals of the new Downtown Action Plan are to facilitate economic, residential, vibrancy, and business growth, says the City of Edmonton.

If you haven’t secured your spot yet for TRREB REALTOR® QUEST 2025, now’s the time.

Hazelview’s proposal calls for 590 residential units with a 49% share of two- and three-bedrooms.

Renowned Chef Mark McEwan has teamed up with Great Gulf Group to elevate cottage country's dining options.

Wesgroup Properties is joining Crombie REIT on its Kingsway & Tyne, Lynn Valley, Hastings, and West Broadway projects across Metro Vancouver.

The new Downtown Density Bonusing Offset Program will encourage high-density residential development in downtown Calgary.