With the federal election on September 20th quickly approaching, the Canadian housing market has become a highlighted issue among the campaigning political parties. Here is a short breakdown of what each major political party is promising to do about it:
The Liberal Party
The strategy for this party includes commitments to new government funding to support homeownership, a plan to build more homes to address supply constraints, and measures to establish and protect new rights for buyers. How are they proposing to do this?
- Introduce a tax-free First Home Savings Account to allow Canadians up to age 40 to save up to $40,000 toward their first home and withdraw it tax-free
- Double the First-Time Home Buyers’ tax credit – $5,000 → $10,000
- Force the Canadian Mortgage & Housing Corporation (CMHC) to slash insurance rates by 25%
- Propose a rent-to-own program
- Invest $4 billion in a Housing Accelerator Fund for the creation of 100,000 new middle-class homes in 4 years
- Promise $2.7 billion over 4 years to build/repair more affordable homes
- Convert empty office/retail space into market-based housing
- Introduce Multigenerational Home Renovation tax credit
- Put 2-year ban on new foreign ownership in Canadian housing
- Introduce Home Buyers Bill of Rights to ensure the process of homebuying is fair, open, and transparent, including banning blind bidding and establishing a legal right to home inspection
The Conservative Party
This party is promising to ease housing affordability by increasing housing supply (building 1 million homes in 3 years), tackling money laundering/foreign investors, and making mortgages more affordable. How are they proposing to do this?
- Switching 15% of federally owned real estate to housing
- Converting unused office space into housing
- Tying public transit infrastructure to high-density housing areas to allow for easier travel times to and from work
- Encouraging developers to build rental housing by allowing them to defer capital gains taxes when selling a rental property and reinvesting into rental housing
- Stop foreign investors who don’t live in/aren’t moving to Canada from owning homes for 2 years
- Encourage foreign investing in affordable rental housing
- Propose 7-10 year mortgage terms to reduce mortgage payments
- Relaxing the mortgage stress test when a homeowner renews a mortgage with another lender
The NDP
The NDP’s housing plan focuses on affordable housing and rentals for families and young Canadians getting into the housing market. How are they proposing to do this?
- Spend $14 billion on building 500,000 affordable homes in 10 years
- Proposing fast-start funds to accelerate the application process for co-op and non-profit housing projects
- Double the home buyer’s tax credit and help borrow more by increasing the mortgage amortization period from 25 to 30 years for first time home buyer’s
- Impose a 20% Foreign Buyers tax on the sale of homes to individuals who are not Canadian citizens
- Help families make energy efficient improvements to their homes through low-interest loans
- Wave 5% sales tax on the construction of new affordable rental units
- Offering $5,000 in annual rent subsidies for families
The Green Party
The Green Party’s plan focuses on addressing affordable, non-profit, co-operative and supportive housing. How are they proposing to do this?
- Declare homelessness and housing “national emergencies” and appoint a federal housing advocate
- Invest in the construction of 50,000 supportive housing units over 10 years
- Build and acquire at least 300,000 units of affordable co-op and non-profit housing over 10 years
- Appoint minister of housing to oversee implementation of projects
- Create national standards to establish rent controls
- Raise “empty home tax” on vacant buildings with foreign owners
- Work with Indigenous communities across Canada to create Urban Indigenous Housing Strategies
- Address youth homelessness by providing federal grants to existing youth homeless shelters and building more across the country
We encourage you to compare the campaigning party platforms and see where they stand on the issues that are important to you. Happy voting!
