Carney wants big government to get into housing – a major risk to taxpayers
Jake Fuss and Austin Thompson are analysts at the Fraser Institute.
A trade war, U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats to Canada’s sovereignty, and global economic volatility loomed large in the recent federal election. Yet many voters remained focused on an issue much closer to home: housing affordability.
In 2023, under then prime minister Justin Trudeau, Canada added a record high 1.2 million new residents – more than double the previous record set in 2019 – and another 951,000 new residents last year. All told, Canada’s population has grown by about three million people since 2022, roughly matching the total population increase during the entire decade of the 1990s.
Not surprisingly, home building has failed to keep pace. In fact, housing construction rates have barely exceeded 1970s levels, even though the population has more than tripled since then. The result has been a historic surge in housing costs.
On the campaign trail for the recent election, the Liberals set an immigration target of about 400,000 per year, which is lower than the recent record highs but still high by historical standards, and tabled a plan that they claim will double Canada’s residential construction rate to 500,000 new homes per year within a decade. But is it a good plan? And can the Liberals deliver it? ….[Continue Reading]