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
Chants of 'shame on you' greet guests arriving for the annual White House correspondents' dinner
An election-year roast of U.S. President Joe Biden before journalists, celebrities and politicians at the annual White House correspondents' dinner Saturday.
What is a 'halal mortgage'? Does it make housing more accessible?
The 2024 federal budget announced on April 16 included plans to introduce “halal mortgages” as a way to increase access to home ownership.
Here's where Canadians are living abroad: report
A recent report sheds light on Canadians living abroad--estimated at around four million people in 2016—and the public policies that impact them.
Deadly six-vehicle crash on Highway 400 sparked by road rage incident
One person was killed in a six-vehicle crash on Highway 400 in Innisfil Friday evening.
Opinion I just don't get Taylor Swift
It's one thing to say you like Taylor Swift and her music, but don't blame CNN's AJ Willingham's when she says she just 'doesn't get' the global phenomenon.
Invasive and toxic hammerhead worms make themselves at home in Ontario
Ontario is now home to an invasive and toxic worm species that can grow up to three feet long and can be dangerous to small animals and pets.
Harvey Weinstein hospitalized after return to New York from upstate prison
Harvey Weinstein’s lawyer said Saturday that the onetime movie mogul has been hospitalized for a battery of tests after his return to New York City following an appeals court ruling nullifying his 2020 rape conviction.
'We are declaring our readiness': No decision made yet as Poland declares it's ready to host nuclear weapons
Polish President Andrzej Duda says while no decision has been made around whether Poland will host nuclear weapons as part of an expansion of the NATO alliance’s nuclear sharing program, his country is willing and prepared to do so.
Central Alberta queer groups react to request from Red Deer-South to reinstate Jennifer Johnson to UCP caucus
A number of LGBQT+2s groups in Central Alberta are pushing back against a request from the Red Deer South UCP constituency to reinstate MLA Jennifer Johnson into the UCP caucus.