A breakdown of each party's strategy - from homebuyer incentives to investor tax relief and rental market reforms
As Canada’s housing crunch continues to squeeze affordability, all three major federal parties are rolling out plans aimed at getting more people into homes.
While each party takes a different approach, their platforms reveal overlapping themes – tax breaks, housing supply incentives, and development reform.
Here’s a breakdown of what the Liberals, Conservatives, and NDP are promising, and how experts are reacting to their ideas.
Liberals want to build big
The Liberals, under the leadership of Mark Carney, say they plan to double the pace of home construction in Canada—aiming to build 500,000 units a year over the next decade.
To make that happen, they’re proposing a new federal housing agency called Build Canada Homes, which would put the federal government directly back into the homebuilding business. The last time Ottawa played that kind of role was in the post-WWII era, when it helped house returning veterans.
This agency would be backed by $35 billion in funding, meant to support the construction of affordable housing and finance projects led by private homebuilders.
The Liberals also want to cut development charges at the municipal level in half, though this falls under local jurisdiction. Ottawa would continue encouraging cities to reduce red tape through its existing Housing Accelerator Fund.
On the tax side, the party plans to waive GST for first-time homebuyers purchasing newly built homes priced at or below $1 million. Currently, only new builds are subject to GST, and a federal rebate already exists for homes up to $450,000.
Conservatives eye investor-friendly tax breaks
The Conservative Party is proposing a GST exemption on all newly built homes priced under $1.3 million, with no restriction on buyer type, a key distinction from the Liberal plan.
The Tories are also pushing for municipalities to release more land, accelerate permits, and cut development charges to facilitate construction. Leader Pierre Poilievre has emphasized workforce development, promising to ramp up training and improve job prospects for trades workers.
One notable tax measure is a proposal to waive capital gains taxes on proceeds reinvested in Canada. While Canadians don’t pay capital gains on their principal residences, this move targets investors and homebuilders who typically face tax when selling properties.
NDP focus on rent control
The NDP announced on March 30 a plan to expand the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) to offer long-term, low-interest mortgages to first-time buyers. The party’s approach includes firm measures against corporate landlords, aiming to ban corporations from acquiring affordable rental properties and restrict access to federal loans and tax benefits for landlords accused of rent gouging.
Instead, the NDP would increase funding for the rental protection fund to help non-profits acquire affordable apartments, and invest $1 billion over five years to purchase public land for rent-controlled housing.
“We’re already fighting to build rent-controlled homes on federal land, and to ban corporate landlords from buying up affordable homes,” NDP leader Jagmeet Singh said in a statement. “Today’s plan builds on that work—because we’re ready to fight to make sure you can afford a safe place to live, raise your kids, and build your future. And we won’t stop until we get it done.”
On April 6, the NDP also proposed linking federal housing funds to provincial and municipal tenant protections, including rent control. The party has also pledged to train 100,000 more skilled trades workers, echoing a similar Conservative promise.
What experts are saying
John Pasalis, president and broker at Realosophy in Toronto, sees the Liberals reviving an old program from the 1970s that could help spur rental construction. The multi-unit residential building (MURB) program offers early-stage tax breaks for rental developers, and could help convert stalled condo projects into apartment buildings.
“It’s effectively a tax incentive for builders, which effectively helps stimulate supply,” Pasalis said.
When it comes to tax relief, he noted a big difference in the Liberal and Conservative approaches. The Conservative GST cut could encourage investors to scoop up new homes, he warned, while the Liberal version is more focused on people who actually plan to live in them.
“If we’re giving what is effectively a tax subsidy to somebody, my feeling is it should be the first-time buyers, not wealthier investors who have been shutting out the next generation,” he said.
Read next: How the federal government could unclog Canada's housing pipeline
Still, Pasalis pointed out a flaw in the Liberals’ $1 million cap. In expensive cities like Toronto or Vancouver, someone buying a $1.1 million home wouldn’t benefit at all. He suggested a more flexible approach, waiving GST on the first $1 million of a home’s value, regardless of the total price.
Kevin Lee, CEO of the Canadian Home Builders’ Association, thinks the Liberal plan may be too narrow, arguing that the market needs homes at all price points to improve overall supply. That includes allowing people to “move up” and free up starter homes for others.
He had a more positive take on the Conservatives’ capital gains exemption. “Looking at the taxation system and figuring out ways to incentivize people to continue to invest and build more housing is a good thing,” Lee said.
Lee also agreed with the NDP’s concern about bad actors in the rental space but cautioned against broad restrictions on corporate landlords. Large companies are often the main financiers behind purpose-built rental buildings, and if they’re pushed out, the consequences could be severe.
“Quite frankly, by being not welcoming to corporate investors in Canada, those corporate investors are investing in other places like the United States where it’s a lot easier to build purpose-built rental,” he said.
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