Affordable
Housing

Let’s Get Back to Building Housing

Housing is a human right. Yet today, the housing market is being treated like the stock market. Families across Canada can’t keep up with rising housing costs. Big companies are buying up homes. The government has done too little to help. The Green Party has a plan to fix this. We’ll set clear rules for what “affordable” really means. We’ll strengthen housing market regulations. Most importantly, we’ll get the federal government back in the business of building housing.

Real Affordability

The government has programs to fund the construction of affordable housing. But most of these programs still base the cost of units on the inflated housing market. This makes no sense. People can’t afford these government-funded “affordable” homes on their actual incomes. We will fix this by setting clear rules. When public money builds housing, it must be truly affordable. This means an individual or family should be able to pay their rent or mortgage with 30% of their regular income.

Putting People Before Profits

Big corporations see homes as a way to make easy money. They buy up properties, driving prices higher and higher. In cities like Vancouver and Toronto, investors own more than 30% of all condos. Regular families who need homes can’t compete.

We have a plan to stop this. Here are some of the things we’ll do:

• Use covenants to make sure housing built with public money stays affordable forever
• Close loopholes to stop criminals from using real estate to hide dirty money
• Eliminate the unfair tax advantages for Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs)
• Stop corporations from buying up single family homes

Building Homes That Work for Everyone

Canada knows how to build good housing. We have the workers, the materials, and the know-how right here at home. What’s missing is government leadership. The Green Party will launch the biggest public housing construction program since the 1970s. We’ll create good local jobs. We’ll use Canadian materials. Most importantly, we’ll build homes that people can actually afford.