Unpacking the Liberal’s ‘Housing First’ Federal Budget

Canada’s governing Liberals have released a federal budget to solve the housing crisis as they head off low polling numbers ahead of next year’s election.

Urmi and John discuss the background and efficacy of the many measures proposed including: subsuming immigration policy and targets to housing realities, an increased capital gains tax that will hit some housing investors, an extended ban on foreign buyers, and a pile of supply-side policies that is aimed at yielding a net 2 million new homes by 2031.

We take a close look at all housing measures announced, including: 

• Supply-side initiatives largely provide more low-cost loans and federal government land leasing opportunities to those building purpose-built rental housing
• Other supply measures including tying more municipal funding for transit to housing incentives, supporting new home building technology and training more labour in the building industry
• The Liberals change course and situate immigration as a key housing demand driver, requiring stronger limits for both permanent and non-permanent immigration categories 
• Other demand measures include extending the foreign buyer ban and limiting other investor activity, alongside more first-home home buyer initiatives

How to Watch/Listen:

• Click on play button above to watch on this blog post
• Go to our Move Smartly YouTube channel to watch this session there
• Go to our Move Smartly podcast to hear this episode when it become available on (new episodes go live each Tuesday) - click to listen here
   

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John Pasalis is President of Realosophy Realty. A specialist in real estate data analysis, John’s research focuses on unlocking micro trends in the Greater Toronto Area real estate market. His research has been utilized by the Bank of Canada, the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Have questions about your own moves in the Toronto area as a buyer, seller, investor or renter? Book a no-obligation consult with John and his team at a Realosophy here: https://www.movesmartly.com/meetjohn

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Urmi Desai is Founding Editor at Move Smartly, a leader in Toronto real estate news & analysis, and is Realosophy Realty's Chief Content Officer with responsibility for Realosophy.com and all consumer education and tools.

Urmi holds a B.A. in Political Science and English from the University of Toronto and an M.A. from the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs (Trade Economics) at Carleton University (Ottawa, Canada).

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