Housing Agency Head Admits No Solution Yet for Housing Shortage

The CEO of the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) mentioned that there is no finalized plan yet to solve the country’s shortage of homes.

While testifying before the Senate finance committee, Ms. Bowers stated, “No there is not a plan,” in response to a question from Sen. Elizabeth Marshall, as first reported by Blacklock’s Reporter.

The CEO elaborated that more time is needed to complete an assessment since it’s challenging to estimate the number of housing units that can be built.

Ms. Marshall inquired about the government’s overall plan to address the 3.5 million homes deficit, to which Ms. Bowers replied that there is no definite plan as of yet and it is still in development.

Ms. Bowers also highlighted that many factors contribute to housing production, such as interest rate trajectories, availability of skilled labor, and local conditions.

In June 2022, the CMHC released a report indicating that 3.5 million new homes need to be built by 2030 to restore affordability. However, this falls short of the 22 million units required to establish affordability. The report suggested a drastic transformation of the housing sector is needed to meet demand.

Sen. Marshall remarked that the federal initiatives announced so far seem “piecemeal.”

Ms. Bowers was addressing a cabinet proposal to remove the GST on new rental builds during the Senate committee meeting.

Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland later appeared before the House of Commons finance committee, where she was questioned about the lack of a plan to address the housing gap.

Ms. Freeland emphasized her government’s work on housing and stated they have a plan to build more homes faster across the country. She also mentioned providing $20 billion in financing to build rental apartments and the sale of federal land to build on.