Canada Election 2021: How Each Party Plans to Fix the Housing Crisis

Canada Election 2021: How Each Parties Plans to Fix the Housing Crisis
August 18, 2021

Updated August 24, 2021: The lack of affordable homes to buy and the rent was an issue for Canadians before the pandemic but has become a national crisis since. With the growth of remote work due to the pandemic and the Okanagan being such a desirable place to live, housing affordability has become one of the most critical issues of this year’s election.  

Compared to other G7 countries, Canada ranks the lowest – needing 1.8 million more homes to reach the average. More specifically, Canada has 424 housing units per 1000 population. We would need an additional 250 thousand homes to catch up to the UK that has 433 units per thousand. Although the gap may seem small, there have only been 188 thousand homes built in Canada in the last 10 years. 

While the CHBA-CO is a non-partisan entity, political leaders have the ability to make policy changes, implement new taxation, and create a budget or incentives that actively promote the building of affordable homes.  

So as you head to the polls in September, here is a look at how every party hopes to tackle the Canadian housing crisis, in alphabetical order: 

Canada Election 2021: How Each Parties Plans to Fix the Housing Crisis

CONSERVATIVE PARTY

Advocacy:  

Foreign Investors:  

Tax: 

    • Implement tax incentives to increase the supply of rental units.  
    • Increase the Home Accessibility Tax Credit to $10,000 per person. 

New Homes:  

    • Build $1 million homes in three years by switching 15% of federal real estate to housing. 

Canada Election 2021: How Each Parties Plans to Fix the Housing Crisis

GREEN PARTY

Advocacy:  

Foreign Investors:  

    • Strengthen regulation of foreign investment in residential real estate.  
    • Create an “empty home” tax for foreign and corporate residential property owners who leave buildings and units vacant. 

Canada Election 2021: How Each Parties Plans to Fix the Housing Crisis

LIBERAL PARTY

Advocacy:  

    • Reallocate $300 million from the Rental Construction Financing Initiative to help convert the excess commercial property to rental housing. 
    • Review home prices in high-priced markets to determine whether speculation is driving up the cost of housing. 
    • Reintroduce the First-Time Home Buyer Incentive, giving people up to 10% off the purchase price of their first home. 

Foreign Investors:  

Tax:  

    • Increase the new residential rental property rebate on the GST to 100%, eliminating all GST on new capital investments in affordable rental housing. 
    • Provide $125 million per year in tax incentives towards increasing and renovating the supply of rental housing. 
    • The creation of a tax-free savings account for first time home buyers

New Homes:  

Canada Election 2021: How Each Parties Plans to Fix the Housing Crisis

NEW DEMOCRATIC PARTY

Advocacy:  

    • Streamline the application process to stimulate the creation of more co-op and non-profit social housing by establishing “fast-start funds”.  
    • Reintroduce 30-year terms for mortgages backed by the CMHC for “entry-level homes,” which the party says will allow for smaller monthly payments; as well as provide model co-ownership agreements.  
    • Establish a “public beneficial ownership registry” to increase transparency about property ownership, with the aim of fighting money laundering, and require the reporting of suspicious transactions. 

Foreign Investors:  

    • The federal NDP has promised to enact and implement a 20 % federal tax on foreign investors who compete to buy homes. 

Tax: 

New Homes: