This comes along with more than 85 billion in new spending from a booming economic rebound and a plan to spend some of the windfall on a series of measures aimed at keeping the good growth going.
OTTAWA - The federal Liberal government hopes to ease the housing crisis with more than $10 billion in funding meant to speed up home construction and repairs.
This comes along with more than $85 billion in new spending from a booming economic rebound and a plan to spend some of the windfall on a series of measures aimed at keeping the good growth going.
The housing commitments are part of a raft of promises in the federal budget unveiled Thursday that also include a two-year ban on foreign investors buying homes and tax measures meant to reduce speculation.
Increasing housing supply is the clear focus of the spending commitments, which include $4 billion for municipalities as part of a housing accelerator fund, $1.5 billion for affordable housing and $4.3 billion for Indigenous housing.
The Liberals say they will also leverage more than $40 billion in infrastructure funding to push cities and provinces to act faster on housing. To tamp down on speculation and demand, the Liberals have also proposed a two-year ban on foreign home buying as well as higher taxes for people who sell their home within a year, though both measures include multiple exceptions. The budget also includes measures to help people trying to get into the market, including a new savings account and changes to the first-time home buyers tax credit.
The 2022 budget released Thursday also includes more than $31 billion in new spending over the next five years. It's targeted at speeding the flow of goods through the country's supply chains, boosting housing supply and jolting businesses out of an anemic period of investment. The new spending has increased the fiscal year's deficit to $52.8 billion from earlier estimates of $44.1 billion. Government officials framed the spending as a hedge against near-term economic uncertainty created by Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine and the sixth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. But the Liberals also say the spending is aimed at the long-term as well to address structural issues within the national economy.