Making housing more affordable for Canadians
April 8, 2022
Everyone should have a place to call home, yet it is becoming increasingly challenging for many Canadians to find a safe and affordable place to live. That’s why a key focus of Budget 2022 is making housing more affordable in communities across the country.
The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, and the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Chrystia Freeland, today highlighted key measures included in Budget 2022: A Plan to Grow Our Economy and Make Life More Affordable to improve the housing affordability for Canadians.
The measures proposed in Budget 2022 include:
- Putting Canada on the path to double housing construction over the next decade, including by investing $4 billion for the launch of a new Housing Accelerator Fund that will help create 100,000 new housing units over the next five years.
- Curbing unfair practices that drive up the price of housing by imposing a two-year ban on foreign capital coming into Canada to buy residential real estate; and taking steps to make property flippers pay their fair share.
- Helping Canadians buy their first home by introducing the Tax-Free First Home Savings Account to allow first-time home buyers to save up to $40,000; doubling the First-Time Home Buyers’ Tax Credit to $10,000, providing up to $1,500 in direct support to home buyers; extending the First-Time Home Buyer Incentive to March 31, 2025, to allow first-time home buyers to lower their borrowing costs; and investing $200 million to help develop and scale up rent-to-own projects across Canada.
- Protecting buyers and renters by working with provinces and territories to develop and implement a Home Buyers’ Bill of Rights and bring forward a national plan to end blind bidding.
- Continuing to fight homelessness and support housing affordability, particularly for the most vulnerable by investing $475 million in 2022-23 to provide a one-time $500 payment to those facing housing affordability challenges; providing $1.5 billion to extend the Rapid Housing Initiative and create at least 6,000 additional affordable housing units across Canada; advancing $2.9 billion under the National Housing Co-Investment Fund to accelerate the creation of up to 4,300 new units and repair of up to 17,800 units for vulnerable Canadians ahead of schedule; and providing $562.2 million over two years to continue to prevent and address homelessness through Reaching Home: Canada’s Homelessness Strategy.
- Addressing the housing needs of Indigenous Peoples by investing $4.3 billion over seven years to improve and expand Indigenous housing in Canada. Along with these investments, $2 billion of the $20 billion provided for long-term reform of the First Nations Child and Family Services program will be allocated to target the housing needs of First Nations children once a final settlement is reached.
Budget 2022 proposes targeted and responsible investments to give all Canadians a safe and affordable place to call home. This is part of our plan to make life more affordable, create jobs and prosperity today, grow the middle class, and build a stronger economic future for everyone.
Quotes
“Making life more affordable for Canadians starts with addressing housing affordability. All Canadians deserve a safe place to live, raise their families, and build their future. Budget 2022 will put home ownership in reach for more Canadians, protect renters and buyers, and expand Indigenous housing across the country.”
The Rt. Hon. Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada
“Housing is a basic human need but it is also an economic imperative. Our economy is built by people, and people need homes in which to live. Our problem is simply this: Canada does not have enough homes. We need more of them, fast. This budget represents the most ambitious plan that Canada has ever had to solve that fundamental challenge.”
The Hon. Chrystia Freeland, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance
“In Canada, we don’t just imagine what our future can be – we roll up our sleeves and make it a reality. Budget 2022 is about providing young Canadians with the support they need to save for their first home. It’s about putting Canadians first by putting an end to unfair practices that lead to rising home prices. It’s about helping families access an affordable place to call home. This is the National Housing Strategy at work.”
The Hon. Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Housing and Diversity and Inclusion
Quick Facts
- Budget 2022 introduces a Multigenerational Home Renovation Tax Credit. This would provide up to $7,500 to Canadians for constructing a secondary suite for a senior or an adult with a disability to move in.
- To expand co-op housing in Canada by an estimated additional 6,000 units, Budget 2022 proposes to reallocate $500 million of funding from the National Housing Co-Investment Fund and reallocate an additional $1 billion in loans from the Rental Construction Financing Initiative to support co-op housing projects. This would make it the largest investment toward building new co-op housing in Canada in more than 30 years.
- Budget 2022 proposes $150 million over two years, starting in 2022-23, to support affordable housing and related infrastructure in the North.
- Budget 2022’s proposed housing measures build on the Government of Canada’s National Housing Strategy (NHS), a 10-year, $72+ billion plan that will give more Canadians a place to call home.
- Since the creation of the NHS, the Government of Canada has committed over $24.2 billion to support the creation of over 91,000 units and the repair of over 209,700 units, and has provided a more affordable place to live to over 172,000 households. These measures prioritize those in greatest need, including seniors, Indigenous Peoples, people experiencing or at risk of homelessness, and women and children fleeing violence.
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