While original in format, Poilievre’s housing plan focused on the same old arguments Canadians have heard from politicians and housing economists for years
That Canada’s housing crisis is due almost exclusively to a lack of supply 2/
In my December 2023 report, I unpacked the many problems with Poilievre’s theories & plans to fix Canada's housing crisis.
A thread on some of the bigger issues with 🇨🇦's obsession with real estate as an investment.
Firstly, the issues surrounding investors buying condos vs low-rise houses are quite different. 🧵⤵️
The fact that most of Canada’s rental supply has been filled by investors buying condos and converting them to rentals is a product of our government’s decision decades ago to not invest in and prioritize permanent rental housing 2/
This is not the best way to build rental housing, and our government is making some good strides in prioritizing PBRs
But the reality is that there are often path dependencies with housing policies, which means investors buying condos can’t change any time soon 3/
Last week, Canada’s immigration minister, Marc Miller, announced that the Liberal federal government plans to reduce the number of non-permanent residents (NPR) in Canada from the current 6.2% share of total population to 5% over the next three years. 2/
On the surface, this reduction doesn’t sound like a noteworthy announcement that will have much of an impact
But a closer look at the data makes it clear that this is a significant shift in policy & one that will have wide-reaching effects, particularly on the housing market 3/