Ottawa has released its 2025 budget. The big theme is “spending less to invest more,” which means cuts to government expenses (such as payroll…the civil service is being cut 10 percent) to fund spending on capital projects designed to stimulate future economic activity. Here are some highlights relevant to our sector. The 2025 budget promises…
With an initial investment of $13 billion over five years, Build Canada Homes will deploy capital to supercharge the housing industry. First initiatives include:
- Developing public land sites and prioritising innovative, factory-built housing, starting with six sites to build 4,000 factory-built homes with additional capacity of up to 45,000 units across Canada Lands Company’s portfolio;
- Protecting existing affordable housing by launching the $1.5 billion Canada Rental Protection Fund under Build Canada Homes;
- Providing $1 billion to build transitional and supportive housing for people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness;
- Partnering with the Nunavut Housing Corporation to build over 700 public, affordable, and supportive housing units.
Eliminating the Goods and Services Tax for first-time home buyers on new homes up to $1 million and reducing the GST for first-time home buyers on new homes between $1 million and $1.5 million.
Provide $75 million over three years, to Employment and Social Development Canada to expand the Union Training and Innovation Program, which supports union-based apprenticeship training in the Red Seals trades.
Increase the Canada Mortgage Bond annual issuance limit from $60 billion to $80 billion to unlock thousands of new housing units per year. This will increase access to cost-effective mortgage funding for lenders, helping them offer more mortgages and support the construction of new multi-unit housing across Canada. The increase will apply exclusively to multi-unit housing.
|
