The Liberal government wants to make it easier for Canadians to own a home. But will their plan succeed?
“Solving the Housing Crisis: Canada’s Housing Plan” was announced by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday. The lofty strategy intends to build 3.87 million new homes by 2031. This amount would be in addition to the 1.87 million new builds forecasted by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation during the same period. Trudeau is counting on investments in the upcoming 2024 budget to support this plan.
“We are changing the way we build homes in Canada. In our housing plan and Budget 2024,” Trudeau said. “We are delivering ambitious action and investments to build more homes, make it easier to rent or own, and help the most vulnerable with stable housing. This is about restoring fairness for every generation, and housing is at the heart of that.”
Other portions of the plan include:
A Public Lands for Homes Plan will lead a national effort to build affordable housing across the country’s federal, provincial, territorial, and municipal lands. The government plans to partner with homebuilders and housing providers to build homes on every possible site across the public portfolio and ensure long-term affordability.
$15 billion in additional loans for the Apartment Construction Loan Program to build a minimum of 30,000 new rental apartments in big cities, small towns, and rural communities will be proposed in the 2024 budget. With this additional financing, the program plans to build over 131,000 new apartments by 2031-32.
Launching Canada Builds, an approach to building affordable homes for the middle class on under-utilized lands across the country. Canada Builds combines federal low-cost loans with provincial and territorial investments to scale up construction on rental homes for the middle class.
The plan aims to support Indigenous Peoples living away from their urban, rural, and northern communities. The government will provide additional distinctions-based investments for Indigenous housing to be delivered by Indigenous governments, organizations, housing, and service providers.
The Home Buyers’ Plan withdrawal limit will be increased by $25,000, extending the grace period repayment plan by an additional three years.
There will be an extension of mortgage amortizations for first-time buyers buying newly built homes. Mortgage insurance rules will be amended to allow 30-year mortgage amortizations exclusively for first-time home buyers purchasing new builds.
Recruiting the next generation of builders
The plan also allots $150 million for recruiting and training builders. $90 million will go to the Apprentice Service to recruit and educate the next generation of builders. $10 million will be put towards the Skilled Trades Awareness and Readiness program to encourage high school students to enter the skilled trades. Finally, $50 million will go to the Foreign Credential Recognition Program, focusing on residential construction to help skilled trades workers build more homes. This funding is intended to remove barriers to the credentials needed for construction workers.
Sean Fraser, Minister of Housing, Infrastructure, and Communities, wrapped up Trudeau’s goal in a nutshell: “Canada can and will solve the housing crisis, and we’re going to do it by getting every home builder, not-for-profit, mayor, city councillor, and premier pulling in the same direction to build the homes Canadians need.”
