With the upcoming election approaching, we know that there are many policies that need to be considered before submitting your ballot. While housing may be a small component of the big picture, we tend to think it’s a pretty important one. Here is a look at some of the prominent issues being addressed, and the platforms presented by the political parties.

With the Canadian housing market being at the forefront of economic discussion these past 2 years,  there was little question that Canada’s housing supply crisis was poised to get a lot more political.

We have seen home prices  across Canada, in communities both large and small, rising at a rapid pace, far outstripping inflation due to supply failing to keep up with demand.

Some hot topics include the proposed bans on foreign investors and the ban on blind bidding.

Bans and limitations on foreign investors are a topic being addressed across the board. However, according to this article by the star, Baker Real Estate, which is the preeminent pre-construction condo marketing firm in Canada, foreign buyers represented less than five per cent of its more than 5,000 sales for the year 2020.

Historically, these buyers have played an important role in the domestic housing ecosystem by purchasing units, accepting the related risks and long timelines, and then renting them out.

Reinforcing that, a CMHC study issued in May determined that “the share of non-resident ownership in condominium apartments remains low and stable.”

“Bidding blind” is a long-established practice in our real estate market, governed by clear rules. Each party submits their best offer with no information in regard to the other offers, aside from the number of competing bidders. While there is talk that open auction style bidding could combat such exponential “over ask” sales; in other jurisdictions like Australia and New Zealand, where open auctions are the rule, there has been the same rate of house-price appreciation as Canada.

So while, many people who have been beat up in the bidding war process may be inclined to think that this is a strong solution, the impact on the market will likely be minimal if implemented.

In the end, all roads lead back to the lack of housing supply and its impact on affordability.

Canadian voters will be hearing a similar message from each of the major federal parties during the current election campaign: housing has grown too expensive, and we have a plan to fix it.

The consensus reflects the increasingly dire state of housing in Canada, experts say, which affects everyone from prospective homeowners feeling squeezed out of the market to lower-income families languishing on waiting lists for affordable housing.

So what do the political candidates plan to do about it? Here are each parties, housing policies laid out:

Liberal