Thoughts on BC Politics and More

Like Sweden, Japan and the U.S. before it, Canada will start experimenting with scaled-up factory-built housing next year — and it has plenty of lessons to learn from countries where the industry has already matured. Build Canada Homes, the federal government's newly launched home-building agency, aims to fund the construction of 4,000 modular homes on federal land across the country starting next year. The public-private project — currently limited to six cities — could eventually scale to build 45,000 homes, according to Ottawa's announcement. That's only a sliver of the 4.8 million homes that Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation says will need to be built by 2030 to restore housing affordability in this country ... CLICK HERE for the full story

Across much of Canada, home prices and rents have fallen in recent years. For households that have spent years on the outside looking in, that should be cause for relief. However, home prices in much of the country remain at levels that make it impossible for middle-class families to afford a mortgage. And while prices have fallen, the cost to build new homes remains stubbornly high. In many markets, the total cost of construction now exceeds what families are willing, or able, to pay. That gap has left us with a market where homes are both unaffordable to buyers and economically unviable to build ... CLICK HERE for the full story 

The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) has just issued a sobering warning to policymakers regarding the state of Canadian housing. Yet, governments do not appear to be getting the message, nor do they seem willing to take the necessary steps to address the crisis. In their Summer 2025 outlook, the CMHC forecasts that housing starts will fall to 220,000 units by 2027, a nearly 20 percent reduction from 2021’s levels, which exceeded 270,000 units. This forecast is 13,000 homes lower than in their February 2025 release and comes under the backdrop of a Liberal government that promised to “double Canada’s current rate of residential construction over the next decade to reach 500,000 homes per year" ... CLICK HERE for the full story 

Federal officials pushed to approve Islamic-compliant home loans despite repeated internal warnings that the proposal was unworkable, according to newly released Access To Information records. Blacklock's Reporter says emails reveal the Department of Finance wanted to move “extremely fast” on Sharia-compliant mortgages in the months leading up to the April 28 election, despite concerns from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation ... ... CMHC staff said Finance was so eager to approve halal loans that it considered announcing the plan before evaluating its feasibility ... CLICK HERE for the full story

Canada’s federal housing agency is redefining what affordability means in light of soaring home prices, warning Canadians not to expect a return to conditions seen a generation ago. In a report, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation said the goal of restoring housing affordability will now be measured against prices just before the pandemic rather than those from 20 years ago. Blacklock's Reporter said the change reflects how far out of reach home ownership has become for many Canadians ... CLICK HERE for the full story 

Linda Hepner, MLA for Surrey-Serpentine River and Official Opposition Critic for Housing, is responding to the NDP government’s latest announcement on development cost charges (DCCs) with cautious support, but says the real story is what’s being left unsaid. “This announcement confirms what we’ve known for years: provincial policies have driven up housing costs and stalled projects across British Columbia,” said Hepner. “Now the Housing Minister is scrambling to shift blame to municipalities after years of burying builders in red tape, taxes, and delays.” The new regulation, set to take effect in 2026, will allow home-builders to defer up to 75% of development charges until occupancy or four years after permit approval. It also expands the use of on-demand surety bonds province-wide, reducing builders’ reliance on bank letters of credit. Hepner says these tools are helpful, but overdue and don’t absolve the Province of its role in choking supply. “Permitting delays, overl...

... records show that 2,398 CMHC employees — 91% of its workforce — received bonuses last year, averaging $12,865 each. Meanwhile, 12 CMHC executives collected a total of $1 million in bonuses, with an average payout of $83,859. In addition to the bonuses, the CMHC issued 2,190 pay raises in 2024, costing taxpayers $9.3 million. No employees received pay cuts, according to the records ... CLICK HERE for the full story

Housing has been in the news this week, with the BC Government announcing their "BC Builds" initiative . Reading through this announcement, we learn that the program is designed to "create housing that is affordable for household incomes from $84,780 to $131,950 for a studio or one-bedroom home, or $134,410 to $191,910 for a two-bedroom home" Apparently, up to 20% of this housing could be up to 20% below market rent... Not exactly a bold solution to the crushing unaffordability of housing in this province.  It's clear that 'BC Builds' is aimed at providing housing for people who don't urgently need housing. We're in a serious crisis right now, and housing for people with annual incomes over $80k is not the problem; what's missing is housing for those who earn $60k or less per year. Where do they factor into this proposal? People are on the verge of homelessness. Taking a look at the Rental Housing Index , you can see that for t...

Canada’s housing supply gap has shrunk marginally since last year, but the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) projects the country will still be short 3.45 million homes by 2030 in order for housing to be affordable for most Canadians. A CMHC report released on Wednesday revised that estimate down from 3.52 million in its outlook from June of last year. Ontario still makes up most of the shortfall, with a 1.46 million supply gap. However, that is down from the 1.85 million projected last year. Quebec, B.C., Alberta and Nova Scotia all saw the supply gap widen compared with projections from last year. The report has also said Canada is projected to build fewer, not more, new homes by 2030. Last year, CMHC said there would be 18.58 million new housing units by 2030; this year, that projection is down to 18.19 million ... CLICK HERE for the full story