Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre rises during question period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, on Oct. 30.Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press
Pierre Poilievre favours memorable phrases. Axe the tax is his favourite. But the slogan build the homes may be much more important, long term, for the country’s economic success.
In his two years as Conservative Leader, Mr. Poilievre has tried to jump to the fore of a debate that has long argued Canada must build many more new homes. This space has strongly advocated an overhaul of housing policy since the late 2010s. It is an economic case: expensive housing hinders potential growth by holding back our big cities.
After years of costly political inaction, from cities to provincial and federal governments, major policy changes have finally started. Mr. Poilievre is bang on when he declares build the homes – but some of his proposed policy details are problematic. And in his call to rescind some existing plans, he is wrong. Canada needs an all-of-the-above approach. The best ideas have no partisan fealty.
The NDP in British Columbia are the country’s policy leader. They have enacted density rules provincewide. This is the key long-term solution to spur more private-market supply.
The federal Liberals have also acted. Their $4-billion housing accelerator program pays recalcitrant cities to loosen local zoning rules that heavily restricted new homes. The Liberals’ policy work and spending delivered lasting changes in cities across the country, such as four homes on land previously reserved for one or two, more housing near transit and speedier permit approvals.
These are fundamental changes. They will not, however, instantly build as many new homes as needed. But look at this: policy changes, along with demand for homes, have helped push housing starts up 2 per cent nationally in the first nine months of 2024 compared with last year, even with high interest rates.
Of Mr. Poilievre’s good-mixed-with bad ideas, this week is the most recent example. He proposed to eliminate the GST on new homes sold for less than $1-million.
This is good and was lauded by builders, including non-profit developers. It will cost Ottawa billions in dollars in revenue and smartly follows the Liberals’ decision last year to eliminate the GST on new rental apartments through 2035. Mr. Poilievre’s plan also fits the need to cut government taxes, at all levels and across the board, on new housing.
But Mr. Poilievre paired his good idea with a bad one. He plans to pay for the GST cut by scrapping Liberal programs, the housing accelerator and $6-billion for infrastructure. The accelerator money, which ends in 2028, is paid in chunks to cities to ensure rules and processes are reformed. Ending it early undermines those important changes.
Revoking much needed infrastructure money is a bigger mistake. New sewers, watermains and the like are essential to literally underpin new housing for generations ahead. Further, that federal cash is contingent on reforms such as density and freezing local development charges for three years. It’s good policy.
This theme of good-leavened-with-bad ideas is clear in Mr. Poilievre’s primary housing plan, a private member’s bill tabled last fall in the House of Commons and defeated in May.
It proposed a strict formula that would reward cities where more housing gets built. The concept is sensible and sound but the formula is too specific, from potential annual increases to its chosen benchmark year. A city can do the right things and see subpar short-term results, for one example. The bill requires immediate results.
Another issue is transit funding and housing. The idea is good, one already in action. Mr. Poilievre’s version withholds federal funds for transit until new housing is built and occupied around that project. It’s an overly complex way to achieve the goal.
There is a better – proven – approach. A 2018 deal for B.C. and Ottawa to fund the $3-billion Broadway Subway in Vancouver included a requirement for the city to make land around the new transit line “a focal point for higher density housing.” It worked: a lot of new housing is under way ahead of the subway’s opening in 2027.
The point here is not to lambaste Mr. Poilievre. But the details matter. And just because it’s a Liberal idea doesn’t mean it’s a bad idea. Consider this: The B.C. NDP are housing policy leaders; the same cannot be said about the federal NDP.
Build the homes is a good slogan but builders know the best blueprints are drawn up in coherent and careful detail.