Prime Minister Carney pressed on housing prices

Following his new federal housing minister’s initial “no” to whether home prices should be lower, Mark Carney was pressed for his own answer. He says it’s not a “yes or no” question.

Last week, former Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson who was tapped housing minister last week, stated that home prices did not need to decrease, but supply should increase. He later clarified his position on social media, saying “of course” home prices should be lower nation-wide.

The Prime Minister says his administration is planning to cut GST on new homes which would reduce development charges over the course of the next five years.

Carney, who was in Rome for the inaugural mass of Pope Leo XIV while journalists pressed him on housing prices, says the GST tax cut would amount to up to $50,000 savings on the average home price.

“We are talking about time horizons,” Carney explained.

“Once we increase the rate of home building as a country, then that is going to make home prices much lower than they otherwise would be, but that’s a medium term effect.”