PAC Days 2020 In Review: Bringing Canadians Closer to Home

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced Canadians to reconsider or renew their relationship with the concept of home. For many of us, our homes have become our offices, gyms and children’s schools. For those that attended CREA’s 35th annual—and first-ever virtual—Political Action Committee (PAC) Days, their homes transformed into their conference venues too.

On October 5, more than 500 members of the REALTOR® community gathered virtually to unpack how we can bring Canadians closer to home, while simultaneously highlighting housing as a driver of Canada’s economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Even with the temporary switch to a virtual venue, PAC Reps met with their Members of Parliament (MPs) to present three new REALTOR® recommendations:

  1. Create homes for Canadians across the housing spectrum through a major housing stimulus program in partnership with Canadian industry to dramatically increase the supply of new homes;
  2. Incentivize provincial and municipal collaboration by emphasizing housing’s place in infrastructure; and
  3. Make Canadian homes more energy efficient through a green renovation program.

In addition to meeting with more than 130 MPs, participants were able to hone their political savvy through an afternoon of exciting programming.

The Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development logged in for a virtual fireside chat with CREA’s CEO Michael Bourque. Later, CREA welcomed back our exciting media panels, consisting of some of Canada’s most politically savvy—and entertaining—journalists: Chantal Hébert, Don Martin, Hélène Buzzetti, Joël-Denis Bellavance, and Rob Russo.

Participants also got to hear from PAC Days 2020’s exciting keynote speaker: Masai Ujiri, President of the Toronto Raptors. Masai—an accomplished businessman and leader—played a key role in leading Canada’s iconic NBA franchise to its first championship in 2019. As a new Canadian, he discussed his experience making Canada his home and the importance of building communities.

Who said having a virtual conference meant the downfall of the selfie? REALTORS® and MPs alike debunked that myth, with their cameras at the ready throughout the conference. If you missed out on any part of the conference, you can still catch highlights on social media using #CloserToHome and #CREAPAC20.

Thank you to everyone who attended our 35th annual PAC Days—we hope to see you all next year. Whether you were able to log in or not, make sure to check out our 2020 REALTOR® Recommendations and stay tuned to https://www.realtoractionnetwork.ca/ for future government relations updates.

As CREA’s former Government Relations Coordinator and Policy Analyst, Jacob Gorenkoff worked with government and private sector partners, supported the Federal Affairs Committee and administered our online grassroots advocacy platform, the REALTOR® Action Network. Jacob holds master’s degrees in Applied Politics and Political Management from Wilfrid Laurier University and Carleton University, respectively. The personification of chutzpah, he can be found hiking, sipping a good bourbon, and telling bad jokes in his spare time—often all at once.


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