It is heartening to see that all four major federal parties believe increasing housing construction is an important part of Canada’s response to the Trump threats and tariffs. Among other measures to tackle the crisis of housing affordability, our Affordable Housing Team has been advocating for, at minimum, doubling the supply of affordable non-profit and co-op housing units. Now, when economic uncertainty and job losses will likely slow private sector construction, building the non-profit housing we need will also continue to provide work for the 650,000 who work in Canada’s residential construction sector. The Conservatives, to date, are the only party that has not committed to building any non-profit housing.
Here are the recent proposals made as the four party leaders responded to Trump’s threats and tariffs:
Conservative Party: “You know what industry Donald Trump does not control in Canada? Home building. It is a homegrown industry. We must get rid of all taxes and red tape to unleash the biggest home-building boom this country has ever seen. Bigger than the post-war boom when our heroes were coming back from that war. We need to build homes faster than ever, and that means removing the bureaucracy, the red tape, the taxes and the gatekeepers, and I will make it happen. That will also boost the demand for softwood lumber. The loggers are suffering after Biden hit them with tariffs already.” https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/poilievre-full-speech-trump-trade-war-1.7474504
“Investing in Canadian Productivity – Directing the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) to explore re-entering the business of building housing, using Canada’s vast lumber and natural resources to address both affordability and economic resilience.” https://elizabethmaymp.ca/calling-for-bold-action-to-defend-canada-from-trumps-tariff-threats/
“We can control our economic destiny with a plan … a plan that builds millions of homes.” https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/mark-carney-full-speech-1.7479282 During his leadership campaign, Mark Carney provided more detail, including “Double non-profit community housing, including co-op housing” by “expanding access to funding and low-interest loans;” and “Double the pace of new housing construction over ten years,” through investment in new technology, expanding training for skilled trades, and providing “new federal infrastructure funding to offset lost revenues from development charge reductions.” https://markcarney.ca/housing
“Step up Canada’s investments in homes for families and first-time buyers. Tariffs are already causing uncertainty amongst home builders and developers, some of whom are scaling back their projects. We will work with provinces, municipalities and non-profit groups to move in and, if necessary, will invest directly in homebuilding projects to make them happen, including non-market and affordable projects. Canada has a shortage of affordable housing and urgently needs to build more homes. https://www.ndp.ca/news/ndp-workers-canada-plan-support-bc-jobs-and-workers and click on the link.