Builders Can’t Build. Buyers Can’t Buy. Sellers Can’t Sell.

Brampton, ON – Today, the Hon. Pierre Poilievre, Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada and the Official Opposition, and Scott Aitchison, Conservative Shadow Minister for Housing, called for the government to reverse the next Liberal Housing Crisis: a construction crash that is costing jobs and strangling supply – especially across the GTA and Lower Mainland where homes are most desperately needed.

First the Liberals inflated the housing bubble with excess money printing and immigration, then blocked supply with taxes and red tape on builders. Now they’re building yet another new bureaucracy when they should just get government out of the way. 

“For years, buyers could not afford to buy. That’s nothing new. What has changed is that now builders can’t afford to build and sellers can’t sell,” said Poilievre. “Projects are stalled, construction companies are laying off workers and young families are still frozen out. Liberal taxes and red tape are too costly for builders to build or buyers to buy. And sellers are losing too much money to sell. Everyone is living in housing hell.”

Here are the facts: 

  • Since 2024, Greater Toronto Area housing starts are down 49%, the City of Toronto is down 65% (or 10,000 fewer homes), Vancouver is down 5%, and Kelowna is down 36%. 
  • Preconstruction sales of new homes in the GTA have similarly collapsed to historic lows: down 48% year-over-year in July and 82% below the 10-year average. 
  • The industry is hemorrhaging jobs. The CEO of the Residential Construction Council of Ontario warned, “we’re in the process of laying off thousands of people right now.” And the Canadian Homebuilders Association reports 35% of builders surveyed have already begun layoffs. Realtors, mortgage brokers, steel and lumber workers now all face job loss because of the collapse in building. 

Government policies caused these housing crises. Recent research suggests that as much as 50 percent of housing prices can be attributed to land use regulations – municipal red tape – that the federal government has rewarded with more handouts to city politicians. Taxes account for a third of the cost of a home. The CD Howe Institute estimates that government adds $1.3 million to the cost of a home in Vancouver. And Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship found that immigration accounted for 21 percent of the increase in house prices in municipalities with over 100,000 people. 

“This is a crisis not just for young families, but for every worker whose livelihood depends on housing, from trades to suppliers,” said Aitchison. “Enough is enough. Conservatives will slash the government-imposed costs, cut the red tape and finally let Canadians build homes they can afford.”

Conservatives are calling on Mark Carney to reverse the Liberal policies of high housing taxes and red tape and get government out of the way so builders can build, buyers can buy and sellers can sell. Conservatives have long advocated to: 

  • Axe the federal sales tax on new homes under $1.3M. Save families up to $65,000 and unleash new building.
  • Tie federal infrastructure dollars to homebuilding. Municipalities must permit at least 15% more homebuilding each year.
  • Cut building taxes by 50%. The Liberals promised this during the last election campaign, but refused to deliver.
  • Axe the capital gains tax on reinvestments in new housing in Canada and unlock billions of dollars of investments in the country’s homebuilding sector.

“Carney and the Liberals have stolen the dream of home ownership from an entire generation,” Poilievre said. “Conservatives will fight every day to restore the Canadian promise: stronger take-home pay, homes families can afford, safe streets, secure borders, in a proud, sovereign Canada.”