Where are the homes? Is this $1.7 billion blank cheque really solving Canada’s housing crisis?

[00:00:00]Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and if you'll indulge me for a moment as Sunday is Father's Day. I would like to wish and thank my father for his love and support to me and my three brothers and for the life lessons he taught us.

[00:00:14]His humor, his compassion, his very practical common sense, his love of nature. So, happy Father's Day, Dad.

[00:00:22]>> [applause] >> So, Mr. Speaker, let me get back to the matter at hand, which is Bill C-26, the Improving Housing Supply Act or the so-called Improving Housing Supply Act.

[00:00:33]And before discussing the details of this legislation, I think it is important to recognize why housing remains one of the most pressing issues facing Canadians. For generations, home ownership was part of the Canadian promise. If someone worked hard, saved responsibly, and played by the rules, they could reasonably expect to purchase a home, raise a family, and build a future in the community they loved.

[00:00:57]Today, that promise feels increasingly out of reach.

[00:01:01]Young Canadians who have done everything right are finding themselves locked out of the housing market. Many are delaying major life decisions. They are postponing marriage, postponing starting a family, and postponing putting down roots in their communities.

[00:01:17]Because of the cost of housing and it continues to rise faster than their ability to save.

[00:01:22]According to the OECD, approximately 35% of low-income Canadian households are cost overburdened, meaning they spend more than 40% of their disposable income just on housing.

[00:01:34]Renters are watching an ever larger share of their income disappear each month, making it even more difficult to save for a down payment.

[00:01:42]The average rent on a two-bedroom purpose-built apartment in Canada rose 5.1% to $1,550 per month in 2025, and that's if you're lucky.

[00:01:54]And in my home community of Hamilton, the 2025 average rent was over $1,600.

[00:02:02]Under the Harper Conservative government in 2015, the national average was just $942 per month.

[00:02:09]Increasingly, it has become a question of whether future generations will enjoy the same opportunities that previous generations of Canadians took somewhat for granted.

[00:02:21]That is why all members of this house should be focused on one goal, building more homes.

[00:02:27]Unfortunately, while there's broad agreement on the problem, there's far less agreement on how to solve it.

[00:02:34]Bill C-26 is presented as a measure to improve housing supply.

[00:02:38]The legislation itself is relatively short. It's only two paragraphs.

[00:02:43]In essence, it authorizes the Minister of Finance with a giant blank check to make payments to the provinces and territories up to a maximum of 1.713 billion dollars.

[00:02:57]For the purposes of improving housing supply, it's a lot of money and not a lot of indication as to where there will be results.

[00:03:04]At first glance, that sounds like a It sounds like a big number and maybe that's going to achieve something.

[00:03:10]Canadians do want more homes built.

[00:03:12]Conservatives certainly want more homes built. The question is whether the legislation will actually accomplish that objective.

[00:03:19]That is where concerns begin to emerge.

[00:03:21]When Parliament is asked to approve 1.7 billion dollars in spending authority, Canadians certainly have the right to expect a clear plan.

[00:03:29]They have the right to expect measurable objectives. They have right to expect accountability.

[00:03:34]Yet, when members examine Bill C-26, they will find very little detail about what success looks like.

[00:03:42]How many homes will be built? How many housing starts will result from this spending?

[00:03:47]What benchmarks will be used to determine whether that money was spent effectively.

[00:03:53]What reporting requirements will exist to ensure taxpayers can evaluate the results?

[00:03:58]This legislation provides few answers.

[00:04:01]Instead, Parliament is being asked to approve a substantial amount of public spending while placing considerable discretion in the hands of the Minister of Finance. Mr. Speaker, if a municipality came before taxpayers asking for 1.7 billion dollars, citizens would expect a plan.

[00:04:17]If a private company sought 1.7 billion dollars from investments or shareholders, they would expect measurable outcomes.

[00:04:24]Surely Canadians deserve no less when it comes to federal spending. Let me be clear, conservatives support working with the provinces to increase housing supply. We support reducing the tax burden on new homes. We support measures that make it easier to build. The partnership with the province of Ontario promises funding over 10-year period to boost boost housing housing supply.

[00:04:46]However, in the announcement, there are no clear benchmarks on how many houses will be built.

[00:04:52]In fact, buyers, home builders, and and even the government of Ontario is still unclear as to how this rebate is going to be implemented. In question period today, the Liberal government gave no clear answer to when the rebate would be implemented to the question from our shadow Minister of Housing.

[00:05:09]Time and time again, Canadians hear announcements. Time and time again, Canadians hear promises. Time and time again, Canadians are told that relief is just around the corner. Yet, housing affordability continues to worsen. The reality is that after uh the Liberal housing programs over the past number of years, billions of dollars spent, countless announcements, Canadians are still asking a simple question, "Where are the homes?" The CMHC cautions that Canada needs 430,000 uh to 480,000 new homes per year through 2035 to restore affordability to to pre-COVID levels. The government frequently talks about ambition.

[00:05:51]Canadians are looking for results. The government frequently talks about investments. Canadians are looking for homes. The government frequently announces new programs. Canadians are are asking why housing remains less affordable today than it was a decade ago.

[00:06:06]One of the most notable aspects of Bill C-26 is the government's agreement with Ontario regarding the decision to remove the HST from eligible new homes.

[00:06:16]Conservatives have long argued that taxes imposed on home construction ultimately make housing more expensive.

[00:06:22]That is why we support lowering taxes on housing.

[00:06:25]However, we also believe that Canadians deserve something better than temporary measures and complicated rebate programs. Our position has been consistent. We would permanently remove the GST on new homes under $1.3 million.

[00:06:41]That's permanently, not a one-year fix.

[00:06:44]The Canadian Home Builders Association agrees with our vision. They too would like to see relief on taxes made permanent. A permanent GST cut would provide certainty for home buyers, certainty for builders, and certainty for the housing market. It would reduce costs while encouraging the construction of additional housing supply. That's the difference between a measure designed to generate headlines and a measure designed designed to generate building of homes. Mr. Speaker, another concern is the government's continued focus on creating programs and bureaucracies instead of focusing on outcomes. Canadians do not measure success by the number of announcement issued by governments. They measure success by whether they can afford a home, whether housing starts are increasing, and whether their children have a realistic path to home ownership. Those are the metrics that matter.

[00:07:36]Canadians understand that housing affordability will not improve because government creates another program, another fund, another bureaucracy. After the introduction of this bill back in March, between the months of April to May, housing starts have decreased by 6%. That's not progress. Housing affordability improves when homes are built. That means reducing delays, reducing It means accelerating approvals, it means ensuring infrastructure keeps pace with growth. Conservatives believe federal funding should be tied to those outcomes, and that is what we have proposed. Municipalities that increase housing construction should be rewarded. Municipalities that continue to block growth should be should expect that uh taxpayers will not subsidize that failure.

[00:08:24]The objective should be simple, more homes built every year, not more paperwork, not more bureaucracy, not more announcements, more homes. Canada already has the workers, materials, expertise, and entrepreneurial spirit needed to address the housing crisis. What's missing is a federal government willing to focus on results instead of process. Canadians are tired of hearing that help is coming. They want to see the homes being built and want to see families getting keys in the doors of the homes they can actually afford. That is the standard by which this bill should be judged.

[00:08:56]Conservatives continue to advocate for policies to get homes built. We continue to push for lower taxes on housing. We continue fighting to remove barriers to construction. We will continue standing up for young Canadians, families, and workers who simply want to the opportunity to own a home and build a future in this country. Canadians deserve those results. Canadians deserve accountability for $1.7 billion, and most importantly, Canadians deserve a government focused on building homes instead of building bureaucracy.

[00:09:26]Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

[00:09:28]>> Questions and comments. Guess you're all commenting there on the permanent secretary of the government house leader.

[00:09:32]>> Mr. Speaker, the member talks about he wants results and he wants output. Take a look. The leader of the Conservative Party was Minister of Housing six non-profit housing. That's how much he was able to accomplish. Worst Minister of Housing in the history of Canada.

[00:09:46]Compared to just over a year ago, we literally have thousands of low of affordable housing that's on its way in terms of being built and we have record amounts of money that's going to being invested and encouraging housing to be developed. The Cadillac, of course, with this particular bill is likely going to be the province of Ontario where where he is seeing literally tens of thousands of dollars in support. Individuals are already making decisions to build homes in the province of Ontario because of the province of Ontario and the federal government working together collaboratively in order to make it >> Plan Brook Plan Brook Brand South North >> Thank you to my colleague from Winnipeg North for the question and he talked about reality in his question to the to the previous speaker. So, let me let me get to that in a moment, but province of Ontario the government itself, home builders and buyers are waiting to see this program actually be implemented.

[00:10:44]They don't understand how this rebate's going to actually happen. So, that's one thing, but here's the reality faced by Ontarians, Canadians and young Canadians in particular.

[00:10:53]11 years ago before these liberals because of the taxes and bureaucracy that they support the average monthly mortgage payment in this country was $1,432. The average rent was $943. People could afford to buy a a home. Now, a third of the cost of building a home is government and this is symptomatic of the problem of this government.

[00:11:15]>> Jean Therrien the deputy of Abitibi Témiscamingue Merci.

[00:11:20]>> Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

[00:11:23]C-26 leads us to look at the track record after 1 year of this Liberal government, after 10 years of liberal government decreased spending and also there's less accessibility to the Canada housing benefit and to existing housing benefits. Also, budget 2025 spending decreased by 56% as up to 4.3 billion in 2028-2029.

[00:11:56]So, they will be decreasing spending. If housing was such a priority for them, would they be predictably decreasing spending year after year over the next few years?

[00:12:06]>> Thank you to my colleague from Eglinton-Lawrence for making for the question. And you know his his point is valid. It isn't It isn't the spending whether it's increasing or decreasing and we've debated that. That is resulting in the construction of homes.

[00:12:24]We need builders to have confidence. We need an economy that is as it was 11 years ago, the strongest performing economy in the G7, the strongest performing economy in the OECD, not the only economy in the G20 that's in recession. That's just going to help build homes and ensure that they're affordable for young Canadians to actually enter the market.

[00:12:43]>> She's commenting on the member for Thornhill.

[00:12:45]>> Speaker, it's the story is the same same and and not different with this bill and all of the other money that has flow flowed through provinces where housing starts didn't increase and the price hasn't gone down.

[00:12:57]In fact, it's gone up. Earlier today we asked the Minister of Housing how many houses the 1.7 million dollar billion dollars would build and we even asked the parliamentary secretary who had a slightly better answer than the Minister but still no answer at all about how many houses the 1.7 billion dollars of taxpayers' money would build. So, I ask my honorable colleague if he knows how many houses will the 1.7 billion dollars that this house is being asked to approve right now will build.

[00:13:28]>> For Flamborough-Glanbrook-Brant North.

[00:13:30]>> Thank you to my colleague from Thornhill for the question and that's exactly the point. We were going to ask to approve with this bill a $1.7 billion blank check with no idea as to how many homes are going to be built with that when in fact uh when when in fact we don't even know from the province of Ontario when that's actually going to be implemented, how that's going to result in home building, so and and that question was asked in question period, no answer. The question was asked in this debate so far this evening, no answer. So we have no idea how many homes are going to be built for the giant check of $1.7 billion. Uh we should be incentivizing builders to build by cutting the third of the cost of a home that is government and that's fees, taxes, and all of the the roadblocks at municipal level that we've proposed as conservatives to help remove.