Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and his government have released an ambitious plan. Their vision is to increase homebuilding dramatically at least doubled pace of new construction nationwide. Back on Parliament Hill, Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne and Housing Minister Gregor Robertson announced a $1.7 billion spending package. This new program is designed to assist provinces and territories waive, refund or lessen development cost charges and levies for new housing projects.
The launch of this ambitious initiative represents the country-wide recognition of the urgent need for additional new homes across the country. By alleviating these fiscal challenges, provinces will be better able to clear the way for faster homebuilding. The plan comes at a time when many regions face a housing crisis, compounded by rising demand and insufficient supply.
In their personal announcement, Champagne and Robertson emphasized the essential need for this funding. Perhaps unsurprisingly, they noted that it has the potential to greatly speed up construction timelines. Now, the Liberal government needs to make sure they pass the necessary legislation in the House of Commons. Only then can we fully make this money a reality.
In many ways, Ontario has done the bravest thing of all. They’ve agreed with Ottawa to temporarily remove the harmonized sales tax on some newly built homes for up to a year. This measure will help to create more of an incentive for developers to build housing across the province and make life easier for people looking to buy homes.
Yet even with this proactive lobbying by several levels of government, the Liberal government will find it extremely difficult to scale up construction. A hefty web of regulations and zoning restrictions at the provincial and municipal levels create an often confusing and discouraging landscape. This patchwork of confusing regulations creates a barrier to increasing housing supply. Given these challenges, it’s critical that the proposed funding does more than pay lip-service to addressing these barriers.
Champagne and Robertson pride themselves on an inclusive spending plan that focuses on addressing economic barriers. It pushes better coordination and collaboration between federal, state and local governments. By creating an environment conducive to building more homes, the federal government aims to take some of the pressures off Canadian homebuyers.
