Vote-rich, house-poor: How the federal parties plan to improve GTA housing affordability
As Election Day nears, CTV News Toronto is taking a deeper look into the issues that matter most to local voters, breaking down the party promises as they apply to Battleground: GTA.
THE ISSUE
The semi for sale on Coxwell Ave. needs work; the listing highlights its “strong bones” as an opportunity to renovate. But the small home, a prospective gut-job, will likely fetch a million dollars for its sellers.
“It’s run of the mill here, it’s run of the mill in Markham, it’s run of the mill in Newmarket—the GTA,” neighbour Sean Keay says of the price tag, as he eyes the exterior from the sidewalk.
“For buyers, it is very difficult,” broker Shabana Raja told CTV News Toronto.
“The supply and demand is just out of balance.”
Meanwhile, a few blocks away, housing advocates picket in front of a future market-condo site, calling on federal election candidates to do more to build affordable housing for those in need.
“It’s something that’s been bad for a long time and is just continuing to get worse,” protester Ryan Murdock said.
“Each level of government loves to say that they’re powerless to affect things when they all have things that they could do.”
“It’s really difficult,” Raja agrees. “We need to really change up things to make it more affordable for just the average person.”
THE BACKGROUND
As the average home price in Toronto hovers around the million-mark, the region’s affordable housing crisis continues to worsen. In an appeal to the vote-rich but house-poor GTA, the federal candidates are pitching various strategies to increase housing supply, assist first-time buyers, and limit foreign investment.
THE LIBERAL PROMISE
“We’ll crackdown on the predatory speculators that stack the deck against you,” Liberal leader Justin Trudeau pledged as part of his housing platform.
He says his party would ban foreign ownership of new homes for the next two years and spend $4 billion to build or revitalize 1.4 million homes over the next four years.
The Liberals would introduce a tax-free savings account to allow Canadians under 40 to save up to $40,000 towards their first home, double the first-time homebuyers tax credit and cut Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) insurance rates by 25 per cent.
They would also commit $1 billion in loans for rent-to-own projects and invest $2.7 billion in a co-investment fund for affordable housing.
THE CONSERVATIVE PROMISE
“We will ban foreign investors from purchasing homes here if they don’t intend to live in or move to Canada,” Conservative leader Erin O’Toole declared on the campaign trail.
That foreign ownership ban would be in place for two years under a Conservative government.
The Conservatives have also pledged to build a million homes over the next three years to increase supply and release 15 per cent of federal real estate for housing.
O’Toole’s Tories would also support seven-to-10-year mortgages, making changes to the mortgage stress test to help more Canadians qualify for financing, extending the ability to defer capital gains tax when selling a rental property and reinvesting in a rental, and increase the limit on eligibility for mortgage insurance.
THE NDP PROMISE
“We want to get big money out of housing, particularly when it comes to buying your first home,” the New Democratic Party leader Jagmeet Singh said on Aug. 26
An NDP government says they would introduce a 20 per cent tax on the sale of homes to foreign buyers and double the first-time home buyer’s tax credit.
The party has also pledged to build half a million units of affordable housing over the next ten years and waive the federal portion of the GST/HST on the construction of affordable rentals.
The party has promised to re-introduce 30-year terms to CMHC-insured mortgages on entry-level homes for first-time home buyers, offer CMHC-backed co-ownership mortgages and Implement a $5,000-rental subsidy for those struggling to make rent.
THE GREEN PROMISE
“We need to declare housing and homelessness as national emergencies and twin crises,” Green Party leader Annamie Paul pledged on the campaign trail.
The Greens are promising to implement an empty home tax on foreign- and corporate-owned vacant properties and restore tax incentives for building purpose-built rental housing.
The party says they would also invest in the construction and operation of 50,000 supportive housing units over 10 years, building and acquiring 300,000 units of affordable non-market, co-op and non-profit housing over a decade.
Paul’s party would also require that 30 per cent of housing developments that receive federal funding be deeply affordable or available to those with special needs.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING B.C. serial killer Robert Pickton dead following prison attack
Convicted B.C. serial killer Robert Pickton, who preyed on women he lured from Vancouver's Downtown Eastside to his rural pig farm, has died.
Biden speaks after Donald Trump's conviction in hush money case
A day after a New York jury delivered a historic guilty verdict in Donald Trump's criminal hush money trial, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee held a press conference Friday where he spoke publicly about the conviction and his White House bid.
'We will go with the majority': Liberals slammed by opposition over proposal to delay next election
The federal Liberal government learned Friday it might have to retreat on a proposal within its electoral reform legislation to delay the next vote by one week, after all opposition parties came out to say they can't support it.
How did Ontario's bankrupt 'Crypto King' travel the world on Scene+ points?
Newly released documents suggest Ontario’s so-called ‘Crypto King’ paid for months of world travels with $13,000 worth of Scene+ points while bankrupt – but how?
More counterfeit drugs seized, hot water boiler causes fire: Here are the recalls for this week
Health Canada recalled various items this week, including more unauthorized products, counterfeit drugs and bassinets.
Mediterranean diet helps women live much longer, a large new study finds
Women who closely followed a Mediterranean diet lived much longer than those who did not, according to a new study that followed more than 25,000 women for 25 years.
DND moving 1,000 employees out of Ottawa office building due to safety concerns
The Department of National Defence is moving approximately 1,000 employees out of an office building in Ottawa's Lowertown neighbourhood, citing safety concerns for its employees.
Solutions coming for piled-up bodies outside Newfoundland hospital
Health officials in Newfoundland and Labrador say they are only weeks away from a solution to move unclaimed human remains out of roadside freezers and into a nearby hospital.
Edmonton Oilers looking for a road win in decisive Game 5 against Dallas Stars
The Florida Panthers are a victory away from securing a berth in the Stanley Cup final and the Edmonton Oilers are looking for a road win in a pivotal Game 5 at Dallas.