The housing issue in Canada has always been a national focus, and recently, Moe has once again turned his attention to Prime Minister Trudeau. With the decline in housing starts in Toronto and Vancouver, the real estate market not only failed to experience the expected recovery but also faced new difficulties.

Moe made a public statement, sarcastically saying "Trudeau did the impossible," dragging the Canadian real estate market into a "triple crisis."

Real Estate Market Enters "Triple Crisis"

According to the latest data from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), although the national total housing starts are close to historic highs, there is a clear decline in these two key markets: Toronto and Vancouver.

Construction of new apartments in Toronto this year has dropped by 60% in the first half of the year, and it is expected to remain far below the level needed for affordability until 2027.

Construction activity in Vancouver has also slowed down. In contrast, cities like Calgary, Edmonton, and Montreal have seen construction near record levels due to rental apartment demand.

Moe's evaluation was straightforward: "This is a triple crisis. Buyers can't afford it, sellers can't sell it, and developers don't have enough incentive to continue building."

His criticism hits the core contradiction of the current market:

  • For buyers: house prices remain high, and the pressure to buy is heavy.

  • For sellers: market expectations have weakened, and house prices have started to decline, reducing selling profits.

  • For developers: under the pressure of tariffs and high costs, profits are compressed, and the willingness to build new projects is insufficient.

This chain reaction has put the Canadian real estate market in an awkward situation, neither solving the difficulty of buying a house nor maintaining supply growth.

The Liberal Party's Promises Remain Unfulfilled, Policy Implementation Is Questionable

The Liberal Party had promised during the April election that they would double housing starts through a newly established "Build Canada Homes" initiative. However, the reality is that data and trends do not show this change.

The CMHC report points out that to meet future demand, Canada needs to build 480,000 homes annually, almost twice the current level. However, so far, the construction situation in key cities like Toronto and Vancouver is far from the target.

The Liberal Party also introduced some home purchase support policies.

For example, they promised to exempt the federal sales tax on homes purchased by first-time buyers up to 1 million Canadian dollars.

Related legislation has been submitted to Parliament but has not yet passed. The problem is that even if these measures are implemented, they may not solve the fundamental supply and demand contradictions.

Moe seized the opportunity to attack, accusing the Liberal Party of "blowing up the real estate bubble first and then bursting it themselves." He emphasized that without systemic reform, more promises are just empty checks.

Alternative Solutions: Tax Reductions + Incentives for Municipal Approvals

Facing the housing crisis, Moe proposed several specific initiatives.

First, he suggested linking federal infrastructure funds to housing construction, requiring municipalities to speed up approval processes and reduce development costs.

The core of this approach is to use fiscal means to encourage local governments to push more projects forward.

Second, he proposed abolishing the capital gains tax on reinvestment in housing construction, stimulating developers to increase investment.

At the same time, he suggested abolishing the 5% federal sales tax on all homes valued at 1.3 million Canadian dollars or less, allowing more buyers to lower their costs and enter the market.

Compared to the Liberal Party's approach, the Conservative Party's plan focuses more on tax reductions and incentives for supply. Moe even said that these policies could "ignite a real estate boom" and emphasized that "building houses is immune to Trump," implying that the Canadian real estate market does not have to be constrained by the U.S. political environment.

However, from a practical perspective, whether these measures can truly solve the problem remains questionable. Local approval efficiency, land supply shortages, and developers' cautious attitude in a high-interest rate environment are all key factors affecting housing construction. Simple tax cuts or financial incentives may not immediately break through these structural obstacles.

The crisis in the Canadian real estate market is not just about data fluctuations, but also reflects the significant gap between policy implementation and market reality. The Liberal Party's promise of "doubling housing construction" has not yet been fulfilled, while the Conservative Party's tax reduction proposal still needs to be verified for its effectiveness.

Whether it is buyers, sellers, or developers, everyone feels the pressure under the current situation. If housing starts do not significantly increase in the coming years, the issue of housing affordability will only worsen further.

It is foreseeable that the Canadian real estate market will continue to be a central topic in political debates. How to find a balance between attracting investment, stabilizing the market, and ensuring affordability will be the key challenge that the new government must address.

Original: www.toutiao.com/article/7550267792512025098/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author.