The 2025 federal election will provide all political parties with an opportunity to unlock the door to homeownership by supporting policies that will improve housing affordability.
Below is a high-level summary of platform elements in each major national party and how they respond to CHBA’s recommendations in their platforms, which you can read in “Unlocking the Door to Homeownership: Recommendations on the Federal Role 2025,” and which appear below.
The page will be updated as platforms details are announced.
Note: this page is best viewed on a desktop.
CHBA’S RECOMMENDATION: Continue federal leadership regarding the importance of increasing housing supply and improving housing affordability, but ensure a holistic approach in collaboration with provincial and municipal governments.
1. Continue to pursue the doubling of housing starts to make up the 3.5-million-unit housing deficit.
Addressed
Waiting for Platform
Addressed
Campaign Pledge: Double housing starts to build 500,000 per year over the next decade.
Campaign Pledge: None yet
Campaign Pledge: The Canadian Homes Transfer will be $8 million over four years to encourage cities to build more homes, faster and is expected to help build more than 3 million homes. Municipalities that meet more of the Canada Housing Transfer Guidelines for their homebuilding plans can access more funding. This will be permanent until housing supply meets the needs to restore affordability.
How to get to a five-homes rating: Canada does need to double housing starts, and it is critical that the government acknowledge the need to do so. While the Liberal Party’s “Building Canada Strong” plan focuses a lot on purpose-built rental – which is needed – market-rate homeownership makes up the majority of Canada’s housing market and is what the vast majority of Canadians aspire to achieve. To reach a five-home rating, more concrete solutions to create more market-rate housing for homeownership are needed.
How to get to a five-homes rating: TBD
How to get to a five-homes rating: Achieved
2. Continue to lead collaboration with provincial and municipal levels of government to use all levers to improve housing affordability and increase housing supply.
Addressed
Waiting for Platform
Waiting for Platform
Campaign Pledge: Build on the success of the Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF) and further reduce the housing bureaucracy, zoning restrictions, and other red tape to help builders navigate the market.
Campaign Pledge: None yet
Campaign Pledge: None yet
How to get to a five-homes rating: Continuing to address these municipal barriers to more supply is indeed necessary and CHBA supports action to do so. The commitment to publicly report on municipalities’ progress under the HAF is also an important measure.
How to get to a five-homes rating: TBD
How to get to a five-homes rating: TBD
3. Continue and increase capacity to put out objective information and data about housing affordability and housing supply through CMHC and Statistics Canada.
Waiting for Platform
Waiting for Platform
Waiting for Platform
Campaign Pledge: None yet
Campaign Pledge: None yet
Campaign Pledge: None yet
How to get to a five-homes rating: TBD
How to get to a five-homes rating: TBD
How to get to a five-homes rating: TBD
CHBA’S RECOMMENDATION: Remove barriers to homeownership for first-time buyers
1. Improve access to mortgages by fixing the stress test.
Waiting for Platform
Waiting for Platform
Waiting for Platform
Campaign Pledge: None yet
Campaign Pledge: None yet
Campaign Pledge: None yet
How to get to a five-homes rating: TBD
How to get to a five-homes rating: TBD
How to get to a five-homes rating: TBD
2. Adjust the Interest Act to facilitate 7- and 10-year mortgages and remove the stress test on them.
Waiting for Platform
Waiting for Platform
Waiting for Platform
Campaign Pledge: None yet
Campaign Pledge: None yet
Campaign Pledge: None yet
How to get to a five-homes rating: TBD
How to get to a five-homes rating: TBD
How to get to a five-homes rating: TBD
3. Maintain 30-year amortizations for insured mortgages for new construction and first-time-buyers, and index the $1.5 million price cap with inflation annually.
Waiting for Platform
Waiting for Platform
Waiting for Platform
Campaign Pledge: None yet
Campaign Pledge: None yet
Campaign Pledge: None yet
How to get to a five-homes rating: TBD
How to get to a five-homes rating: TBD
How to get to a five-homes rating: TBD
4. Increase Limits on First Home Savings Accounts
Waiting for Platform
Waiting for Platform
Waiting for Platform
Campaign Pledge: None yet
Campaign Pledge: None yet
Campaign Pledge: None yet
How to get to a five-homes rating: TBD
How to get to a five-homes rating: TBD
How to get to a five-homes rating: TBD
5. Improve construction financing to that builders can build more homes, including: directing OSFI to avoid further changes to OSFI B-20 guidelines and to step back from implementing Basel IV; implementing more CMHC Construction Financing for market-rate housing; and revisiting regulations that inhibit needed foreign investment in development.
Addressed
Waiting for Platform
Waiting for Platform
Campaign Pledge: Reintroduce a tax incentive for purpose-build multi-unit rental housing, and through a new entity called “Build Canada Homes,” provide $10 billion in low-cost financing and capital to affordable home builders. Reducing the tax liability for private owners of multi-purpose rental when they sell their building to a non-profit operator, land trust, or non-profit acquisition fund – so long as the proceeds are reinvested in building new purpose-built rental housing.
Campaign Pledge: None yet
Campaign Pledge: None yet
How to get to a five-homes rating: Support for purpose-built rental is much needed since the financial model has been broken for a long time. The removal of GST on purpose-built rental was very good measure that needs to be made permanent, and further tax incentives will help create more purpose-built rental. Given the current challenges with financing construction, low-cost financing and improved financing terms should also be extended to market-rate builders to support more housing supply and lower purchase prices for buyers.
How to get to a five-homes rating: TBD
How to get to a five-homes rating: TBD
CHBA’S RECOMMENDATION: Lower government-imposed costs that add to affordability challenges
1. Continue to work with municipalities and provinces, and use all federal levers, to reduce development taxes.
Addressed
Addressed
Addressed
Campaign Pledge: Cut municipal development charges in half for multi-unit residential housing and work with provinces and territories to make up the lost revenue for municipalities for a period of five years.
Campaign Pledge: For every dollar of relief a municipality offers in development charges, a Conservative government will reimburse 50%, up to a maximum of $50,000 in savings for new homebuyers.
Campaign Pledge: Freeze the increase on development charges and work with provinces to halve development charges that hold up construction. • Provinces can access funding to a $8 billion Communities First Fund by freezing development charges and working with cities to cut them in half, lowering construction costs.
How to get to a five-homes rating: Development charges need to be cut for all types of home, not just multi-unit residential. While the proposed measure is a good short-term fix, it lacks details on how the federal government will incentivize municipalities to cut these charges permanently. Alternative funding models to development taxes must be found and implemented for a long-term solution. See blog post here.
How to get to a five-homes rating: While this will incent those municipalities already inclined to cut DCs to do so by covering half of the lost revenue, many municipalities will not want to lose any revenue and hence may not change their DCs at all. Covering all losses initially, on a declining scale over time, and/or including infrastructure support to offset losses would improve the likelihood of municipal take up. At the same time, the federal government should with provinces and municipalities to mandate alternative funding models to development taxes be found so that development taxes are lowered permanently. CHBA has a list of alternatives that are more equitable for both buyers of new homes and existing communities. See blog post here.
How to get to a five-homes rating: Conversations need to happen with provinces and municipalities to mandate that alternatives to development taxes be found so that development taxes are permanently lowered.
2. Address GST on new homes.
Addressed
Addressed
Waiting for Platform
What was proposed: Eliminate the GST for first-time homebuyers on homes at or under $1 million.
What was proposed: Remove the federal sales tax (GST) on new homes up to $1.3 million.
Campaign Pledge: None yet
How to get to a five-homes rating: Allow to include all buyers of new homes; Increase limits to $1.5M and $2.0M in expensive markets; Index GST limits with inflation annually moving forward; Include all Accessory Dwelling Units and Secondary Suites as eligible for these new construction GST waivers, given they are new housing units; Implement for all new construction, not just first-time buyers.
How to get to a five-homes rating: Do not do so at the expense of infrastructure investment; Increase limits to $1.5M and $2.0M in expensive markets; Index GST limits with inflation annually moving forward; Include all Accessory Dwelling Units and Secondary Suites as eligible for these new construction GST waivers, given they are new housing units.
How to get to a five-homes rating: TBD
3. Lower the GST on renovations, including making Accessory Dwelling Units and Secondary Suites eligible for these new construction GST waivers, given they are new housing; making Net Zero Energy and Net Zero Energy Ready retrofits eligible as “substantial renovations” to qualify for the GST/HST New Housing Rebate.
Waiting for Platform
Waiting for Platform
Waiting for Platform
Campaign Pledge: None yet
Campaign Pledge: None yet
Campaign Pledge: None yet
How to get to a five-homes rating: TBD
How to get to a five-homes rating: TBD
How to get to a five-homes rating: TBD
CHBA’S RECOMMENDATION: Support housing-supportive infrastructure
1. Maintain and increase housing-supportive infrastructure and transit investments and tie them to housing affordability and supply outcomes.
Waiting for Platform
Waiting for Platform
Addressed
Campaign Pledge: None yet
Campaign Pledge: None yet
Campaign Pledge: Require more housing near public transit routes.
How to get to a five-homes rating: TBD
How to get to a five-homes rating: TBD
How to get to a five-homes rating: Tie transit investments to housing affordability and supply outcomes.
2. Work with provinces and municipalities to mandate that alternatives to development taxes be found and implemented so that development taxes are lowered.
Waiting for Platform
Waiting for Platform
Waiting for Platform
Campaign Pledge: None yet
Campaign Pledge: None yet
Campaign Pledge: None yet
How to get to a five-homes rating: TBD
How to get to a five-homes rating: TBD
How to get to a five-homes rating: TBD
CHBA’S RECOMMENDATION: Remove barriers & red tape within the home building process
1. Work with municipalities to support and/or require municipal process improvements tied to housing supply outcomes.
Addressed
Waiting for Platform
Addressed
Campaign Pledge: Publicly report on municipalities’ progress to speed up permitting and approval timelines and implement other commitments under the Housing Accelerator Fund. Fast-track approvals for those with a proven track record with government funding, and speed up application approvals by allowing builders and other orders of government to apply for multiple projects at once.
Campaign Pledge: None yet
Campaign Pledge: • Require cities to allow more multi-unit homes in all neighbourhoods; • Speed up permits and approvals so homes can get built faster; • Commit to 20 percent non-market housing in every neighbourhood; • Provinces can access money in a Communities First Fund by also ending exclusionary zoning that blocks new homes, supporting the construction of pre-fabricated homes to speed up building timelines, and requiring cities to allow at least four units on residential lots and more multi-unit homes.
How to get to a five-homes rating: Tying housing-supportive infrastructure and transit investments to housing affordability and supply outcomes is important, and municipalities who are receiving funding but continually increasing development taxes should have their funding withheld. CHBA has called for and supports fast-tracking as a means to get more supply built faster.
How to get to a five-homes rating: TBD
How to get to a five-homes rating: Ensure that committing to 20 percent non-market housing in neighbourhoods isn’t done via inclusionary zoning which only makes market-rate homes more expensive.
2. Put all federal legislation through a housing supply and affordability lens, including the small business lens and eliminate and avoid inappropriate federal
Waiting for Platform
Waiting for Platform
Waiting for Platform
Campaign Pledge: None yet
Campaign Pledge: None yet
Campaign Pledge: None yet
How to get to a five-homes rating: TBD
How to get to a five-homes rating: TBD
How to get to a five-homes rating: TBD
CHBA’S RECOMMENDATION: Avoid adding costs through codes and regulations
1. Adopt affordability as a core objective of the National Building Code and all related standards
Addressed
Waiting for Platform
Waiting for Platform
Campaign Pledge: Accelerate reform and simplify the Building Code to speed up approvals and streamline regulations.
Campaign Pledge: None yet
Campaign Pledge: None yet
How to get to a five-homes rating: This measure gets a lower score because of the current government’s track record on saying it will reduce costs through the code, while instead adding more in costs through the code. So this measure, which would be a departure from the current government’s approach to building codes, will be very good if and only if dramatic changes are made to the current Building Code, as well as the proposed changes that are currently in development, which are already adding to the cost of construction, slowing approvals, and creating excessively burdensome regulation.. A housing affordability lens, which currently does not exist, is desperately needed on the National Building Code and its development system.
How to get to a five-homes rating: TBD
How to get to a five-homes rating: TBD
2. Invest in innovation and R&D for lower or neutral-cost solutions and avoiding regulation until cost-neutral innovations are available.
Waiting for Platform
Waiting for Platform
Waiting for Platform
Campaign Pledge: None yet
Campaign Pledge: None yet
Campaign Pledge: None yet
How to get to a five-homes rating: TBD
How to get to a five-homes rating: TBD
How to get to a five-homes rating: TBD
3. Establish a National Building Code Interpretation Centre to reduce inconsistencies in applying the building code
Waiting for Platform
Waiting for Platform
Waiting for Platform
Campaign Pledge: None yet
Campaign Pledge: None yet
Campaign Pledge: None yet
How to get to a five-homes rating: TBD
How to get to a five-homes rating: TBD
How to get to a five-homes rating: TBD
4. Provide incentives for Net Zero Ready Homes to reduce costs and accelerate technology development and adoption.
Waiting for Platform
Waiting for Platform
Waiting for Platform
Campaign Pledge: None yet
Campaign Pledge: None yet
Campaign Pledge: None yet
How to get to a five-homes rating: TBD
How to get to a five-homes rating: TBD
How to get to a five-homes rating: TBD
5. Provide incentives for home energy retrofits in market-rate housing.
Addressed
Waiting for Platform
Addressed
Campaign Pledge: Funding home retrofits and lowering utility bills while making it easier for low- and middle-income households, including renters, to adopt heat pumps and energy efficiency upgrades including insulation upgrades, heat pump installation, and window replacements.
Campaign Pledge: None yet
Campaign Pledge: Will eliminate oil and gas subsides and tax breaks to save $18 billion over 10 years to go towards a home retrofit program which will include: • Retrofit 3.3 million homes with energy-saving upgrades—including free retrofits for 2.3 million low-income households, and grants or low-interest loans for 1 million more—cutting energy bills by up to $4,500 a year for families across Canada. • Support for Canadian-made solutions like heat pumps and construction materials – boosting local manufacturing. • Thousands of good union jobs in installation, auditing, and retrofitting – created through partnerships with colleges and training centres.
How to get to a five-homes rating: More details are needed, including what kind of incentives and the duration of the incentives.
How to get to a five-homes rating: TBD
How to get to a five-homes rating: Removing support for oil and gas will drive up natural gas prices for heating homes. Retrofit programs are good, but need to focus on all housing (of which there is much more), not low income. Most installation, auditing and retrofitting jobs in residential construction are not union jobs, so funding should not focus excessively on union training centres.
CHBA’S RECOMMENDATION: Address labour shortages
1. Grow the domestic workforce through additional programming specific to the home building sector and encouraging more Canadians to choose a career in residential construction, supporting apprentices but also non-apprentice/non-union occupations that make up most of the sector.
Waiting for Platform
Waiting for Platform
Addressed
Campaign Pledge: None yet
Campaign Pledge: None yet
Campaign Pledge: Support good jobs by requiring Project Labour Agreements or Community Benefits Agreements
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How to get to a five-homes rating: TBD
How to get to a five-homes rating: TBD
How to get to a five-homes rating: The majority of the home construction sector is non-unionized so Project Labour Agreements do not apply. Community Benefits Agreements is a form of NIMBYism and will only further delay home building while adding to costs.
2. Update the immigration system to actually bring in the right workers for residential construction, which includes those who are in lower education/experience TEERs but that are able to contribute immediately to home construction.
Waiting for Platform
Waiting for Platform
Waiting for Platform
Campaign Pledge: None yet
Campaign Pledge: None yet
Campaign Pledge: None yet
How to get to a five-homes rating: TBD
How to get to a five-homes rating: TBD
How to get to a five-homes rating: TBD
3. Support increased productivity through targeted programming, investment de-risking, and tax credits that can accelerate take-up of factory-built construction approaches (see www.chba.ca/SectorTransition for more).
Addressed
Waiting for Platform
Addressed
Campaign Pledge: They will provide $25 billion in debt financing and $1 billion in equity financing to innovative Canadian prefabricated home builders and eliminate duplicative inspections and streamline regulations for prefabricated housing, including modular. A new entity called “Build Canada Homes” would issue bulk orders of units from housing manufacturers to create sustained demand.
Campaign Pledge: None yet
Campaign Pledge: Support building pre-fabricated homes to help meet tight timelines.
How to get to a five-homes rating: These are direct measures from CHBA in our Sector Transition Strategy that can support productivity and reduce costs in the sector. CHBA would also note, however, that to truly get much more factory-built housing underway, removing barriers to homeownership in general is the first key to enabling the growth of the factory-built approach – factories can’t invest when buyers can’t buy. Creating longer-term bulk orders for manufactured housing answers CHBA’s Sector Transition Strategy recommendation to support factory-built housing with certainty for investment in factories by the private sector, and CHBA is very supportive of this component of the plan.
How to get to a five-homes rating: TBD
How to get to a five-homes rating: Need much more detail about removing the current barriers to getting more factory-built construction by proposing financial system, regulatory, and policy support.
