Pretty ambitious Housting Policy announced by the Carney campaign today.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/carney-double-pace-home-building-1.7497947
Policy promises to double the number of homes built annually in Canada to nearly 500,000.
Some details:
- Says says he would create an entity called Build Canada Homes (BCH) that would act as a developer overseeing the construction of affordable housing in Canada. BCH would be a stand-alone entity, rather than being placed under the stewardship of the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC)
- BCH will supply $25 billion in debt financing and $1 billion in equity financing to "innovative Canadian prefabricated home builders."
- BCH will also provide $10 billion in low-cost financing and grants that it will then funnel into different affordable home building streams. About $2 billion of that will be used to help build housing for students and seniors
- Promises to cut municipal development charges in half for a period of five years by helping cities make up the cost of that lost revenue
- Also commits to bringing back a tax incentive that was introduced in 1974 and ended in 1981 called the Multiple Unit Rental Building (MURB) cost allowance. It was credited with encouraging the construction of about 195,000 units at a cost of $2.4 billion in forgone taxes.
- He would also boost the Housing Accelerator Fund, pledging to speed up approval timelines and publicly report on its progress. Its objective is to build 100,000 more housing units across the country than what would have been built without the fund by streamlining land-use planning and development approvals.
My two cents: This will be tough to execute but points for ambition. His government will need to significantly pressure provinces like Ontario that have been reluctant to institute necessary reforms to address housing affordability.
