More affordable housing for Canadians
Background note on Budget 2022
- Discover the full message
"To make life more affordable for Canadians, we must first tackle the housing shortage. All Canadians deserve a safe place to live, raise their families and build their futures. Budget 2022 will give more Canadians access to home ownership, protect renters and homebuyers, and expand the supply of housing for aboriginal peoples across the country."
Everyone should have a home, yet many Canadians are finding it increasingly difficult to find safe, affordable housing. That’s why one of the priorities of Budget 2022 is to make housing more affordable in communities across the country.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland today unveiled the key measures in Budget 2022: A Plan to Grow Our Economy and Make Life More Affordable to improve housing affordability for Canadians.
The measures proposed in Budget 2022 include the following:
- Position Canada to double housing construction over the next 10 years, by investing $4 billion to launch a new Housing Acceleration Fund to create 100,000 new homes over the next 5 years.
- Putting a stop to unfair practices that drive up housing prices banning the purchase of residential properties in Canada with foreign capital for a period of two years, and taking steps to ensure that those who precipitously resell properties pay their fair share.
- Helping Canadians buy their first home introducing the First-Time Homebuyers’ Tax-Free Savings Account, which would offer potential first-time homebuyers the opportunity to save up to $40,000; doubling the amount of the First-Time Homebuyers’ Tax Credit to $10,000; and providing direct support of up to $1,500 to first-time homebuyers; extending the First-Time Home Buyers’ Incentive to March 31, 2025 to help first-time home buyers reduce their borrowing; and investing $200 million to help develop and expand rent-to-own programs across Canada.
- Protect homebuyers and tenants by working with the provinces and territories to develop and implement a Homebuyers’ Bill of Rights, and to create a national plan to end blind bidding.
- Continue to fight homelessness and support affordable housing, especially for the most vulnerable, investing $475 million in 2022-2023 to provide a one-time payment of $500 to those struggling to find affordable housing; providing $1.5 billion to extend the Rapid Re-Housing Initiative and create at least 6,000 new affordable housing units in Canada; accelerating $2.9 billion in funding under the National Housing Co-Investment Fund to create up to 4,300 new homes and repair up to 17,800 existing homes for vulnerable Canadians; and providing $562.2 million over 2 years to continue to prevent and address homelessness through the Homelessness Strategy: Canada’s homelessness strategy.
- Address the housing needs of Aboriginal people by investing $4.3 billion over 7 years to improve and expand Aboriginal housing in Canada. Alongside these investments, $2 billion of the $20 billion earmarked for long-term reform of the First Nations Child and Family Services program will be redirected to the housing needs of Aboriginal children once a final agreement has been reached.
Budget 2022 proposes targeted and responsible investments to provide all Canadians with a safe and affordable home. These measures are part of our plan to make life more affordable, create jobs and prosperity today, grow the middle class and offer a stronger economic future for all.
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SOURCE Office of the Prime Minister of Canada
