Chris Burke and his fianc茅e have been less than a year away from buying their first home for the past three years.
Saving for a down payment was the first challenge. Now, rising interest rates have kicked home ownership down the road again, stalling the couple害羞草研究所檚 plans to get married and have children.
害羞草研究所淎ny gains we make towards purchasing a house, we害羞草研究所檙e watching the goalposts move further and further away,害羞草研究所� the 31-year-old Ottawa resident said.
Feeling 害羞草研究所渟tuck,害羞草研究所� as Burke put it, is a sentiment shared by many young Canadians who are increasingly pessimistic about their home ownership prospects.
For the federal Liberals, the growing discontent with the state of the housing market is becoming a political threat.
害羞草研究所淚害羞草研究所檓 a former Liberal voter,害羞草研究所� Burke said. 害羞草研究所淚 certainly wouldn害羞草研究所檛 be voting for them this time around.害羞草研究所�
Experts say the housing crisis poses a great risk to the incumbent government in the next election if it doesn害羞草研究所檛 take drastic action soon.
害羞草研究所淭his has become probably the most important both economic and political problem facing the country right now,害羞草研究所� said Tyler Meredith, a former head of economic strategy and planning for Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland.
害羞草研究所淎nd especially given the significant emphasis the government has put on immigration and the relationship between immigration and the housing market, there is a need to do more.害羞草研究所�
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has taken direct aim at the Liberals for the state of the housing market, highlighting the dramatic increases in home prices, rents and even interest rates.
According to the Canadian Real Estate Association, the national average price of a home sold was $709,000 in June 2023, up from $455,000 in Oct. 2015, when the Liberals first came to power.
And the cost of getting a mortgage has soared, following a series of aggressive interest rate increases by the Bank of Canada in response to rising inflation following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Rent prices have also skyrocketed, with some cities seeing double-digit increases over the last year.
Trudeau has tried to deflect for the housing crisis, recently saying there are limits to what the federal government can do.
害羞草研究所淚害羞草研究所檒l be blunt as well: housing isn害羞草研究所檛 a primary federal responsibility,害羞草研究所� Trudeau said during a housing announcement in Hamilton on July 31.
害羞草研究所淚t害羞草研究所檚 not something we have direct carriage of. But it is something that we can and must help with.害羞草研究所�
His remarks were quickly blasted by Poilievre, who reminded people of earlier promises Trudeau had made on housing.
害羞草研究所�(Trudeau) held a news conference 害羞草研究所� to tell you all he害羞草研究所檚 not responsible for housing. That害羞草研究所檚 funny, because eight years ago, he promised he was gonna lower housing costs,害羞草研究所� Poilievre said in a news conference the next day.
Most experts agree that Ottawa isn害羞草研究所檛 solely responsible for the problem. But many say the federal government could still be doing more to alleviate the shortage of housing at the root of the affordability crunch.
The Canada Mortgage Housing Corp., the national housing agency, warned last year that the country needs to build 5.8 million homes by 2030 to restore affordability.
If the current pace of building continues, then only 2.3 million homes will have been added to the housing stock by then.
There are several things experts say the federal government could be doing, such as better calibrating its immigration policy with housing and reforming tax laws to incentivize rental developments. It could also push local governments to get housing built faster.
The federal government has been hearing from stakeholders and housing experts on these potential solutions, as rumblings grow about a focus on housing in the coming fall economic statement and next year害羞草研究所檚 budget.
A senior government official who spoke on the condition of anonymity so they could discuss matters not yet made public, says the Liberals plan to take steps over the next year to get other levels of government, the private sector and the not-for-profit sector to build more homes.
Trudeau害羞草研究所檚 recent cabinet shuffle might be an early sign that the federal government plans to prioritize housing. The prime minister appointed one of the stronger communicators and a rising star on the Liberal bench, Sean Fraser, to take on housing and infrastructure as one, amalgamated file.
害羞草研究所淭he prime minister said something to the effect of, 害羞草研究所業害羞草研究所檝e got a big job for you to do,害羞草研究所櫤π卟菅芯克鶟 Fraser said in an interview.
Fraser said he hopes to help restore a housing market closer to the one he grew up with in small-town Nova Scotia: one where having a job was enough to buy a home.
害羞草研究所淚t might take a bit of time for us to solve the housing challenges that are before us,害羞草研究所� he said. 害羞草研究所淏ut man, is it a challenge we害羞草研究所檙e solving.害羞草研究所�
That challenge includes overcoming jurisdictional issues. Many of the policy levers that could help spur more housing development are at the provincial and municipal levels of government.
Urban planning, zoning laws and red tape are the purview of local governments, which have decision-making powers that can help or hinder housing development.
Ben Dachis, associate vice-president of public affairs at the C.D. Howe Institute, says the predicament the Liberals find themselves in speaks to the 害羞草研究所渋nsidious nature of consistent federal overreach.害羞草研究所�
害羞草研究所淭he cautionary tale is that the federal government needs to stick with jurisdiction,害羞草研究所� Dachis said.
But housing expert Carolyn Whitzman has a different take. The University of Ottawa adjunct professor says the federal government can害羞草研究所檛 turn its back on Canadians in the middle a crisis.
害羞草研究所淭he federal government: it害羞草研究所檚 where the buck stops,害羞草研究所� Whitzman said.
害羞草研究所淚f housing and climate change are the crises that they害羞草研究所檙e certainly treated (as), the federal government is going to have to put on its big kid pants and actually deal with it.害羞草研究所�
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