44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 15, 2023 11:00AM
- May/15/23 2:09:25 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Canada is in a housing crisis and the government is unwilling to admit it. We are not building homes fast enough and the ones that do get built are more out of reach than they have ever been. It is leaving an entire generation of young people feeling like home ownership is no longer a possibility.
Since 2015, mortgage payments have doubled, rent has doubled and the required down payment to buy one's first home has also doubled. In some places, like Orillia, prices have gone up almost 300%. We are now projected to build fewer homes this year than last year. In fact, Canada has the fewest homes per 1,000 residents than any G7 country. The government's approach has been heavy on communication and light on results.
What is the government doing now? It has a fancy new account that will take five years to max out, and the government is now supporting banks to unilaterally extend amortization to well over 40 years. This is going to keep house prices high and out of reach for many young Canadians. We need a government that will admit we are in a housing crisis and focus on results.
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- May/15/23 2:32:28 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we understand the importance of being there for vulnerable renters. That is why this government introduced the Canada housing benefit, a revolutionary measure that puts money directly in the pockets of renters and moves with them when they move from one unit to another. We topped up that Canada housing benefit with a top-up to the Canada housing benefit. We will be there for renters. We will keep building more affordable rental units across the country, and we will be there for vulnerable renters all the way.
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- May/15/23 2:38:30 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we can tell, when the personal attacks are increasing, that it is proportional to the lack of ideas that actually help Canadians.
When we look at housing supply, we are the party that has enabled more Canadians to access affordable housing, as well as to access the dream of Canadian home ownership through the first-time homebuyer tax-free savings account, a 1% tax on vacant, non-Canadian, non-residential real estate. We are also building more housing supply through the housing accelerator fund.
Throughout all these measures, they vote against them and then come here and pretend that they care.
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- May/15/23 2:50:35 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we understand that more Canadians are facing challenges with respect to rental payments.
Although the regulation and rent control issues are under provincial jurisdiction, we on this side of the House believe that we should do everything we can to have the backs of renters. That means building a more affordable rental supply over the life of the national housing strategy, putting money in the pockets of vulnerable renters through the Canada housing benefit, and making sure that we are always fighting hard for more supply and, particularly, a more affordable rental supply across the country, in all communities from coast to coast to coast.
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- May/15/23 7:27:14 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, since he is the housing minister, he will know about housing prices. As I said, when the Prime Minister promised lower costs, the typical house was $452,000. How much is it today?
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- May/15/23 7:27:36 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, specifically, I am looking at the housing price index for the entire country provided by CREA. How much?
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- May/15/23 7:27:52 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, that is close, but it is actually a lot higher than the $452,000 when the Prime Minister promised that he was going to bring housing prices down.
Back when he made that promise, the minimum down payment on an average house was $22,000. How much is it today?
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- May/15/23 7:28:46 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, one can average the regions to get the number for the nation. That is what averages do. This is the housing minister. Surely he knows the average necessary minimum down payment on an average house.
Could the housing minister please provide that basic housing information?
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- May/15/23 7:29:24 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, he cannot provide the average down payment. I know he does not want to because it shows that since the Prime Minister promised more affordable numbers, the average necessary minimum down payment in Canada has more than doubled, from $22,635 to $47,390. That is a doubling of the necessary down payment.
The minister says regional information is different. Can he name one region where housing is more affordable now than it was when the Prime Minister made that promise?
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- May/15/23 7:29:58 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, we know there is a challenge with the rising costs of housing. That is why we have implemented a number of policies to enable Canadians to access their dream of home ownership.
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- May/15/23 7:30:10 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, he was the one who said that regional data was the most important, so I will ask him this again. Since the Prime Minister promised that housing would be more affordable under his leadership, could he name a single region where it is more affordable?
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- May/15/23 7:30:52 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, he has not provided numbers. Let us give him another try.
The Prime Minister said that housing would be more affordable under his leadership. When he took office, it was $1,400 for the average mortgage payment in Canada. What is the average mortgage payment in Canada today?
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