Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time today with the member for London—Fanshawe.
I rise today to speak to Bill C-20, an act respecting the establishment of Build Canada Homes.
Before entering the House, I worked in real estate as a sales agent, a broker and a coach to other brokers across the country. In those roles, I worked directly with builders, real estate developers and municipalities, while also working with first-time homebuyers, seniors who are downsizing, families living through different stages of life, buyers and sellers navigating changing and challenging market conditions, and agents and brokers working in changing markets. I have studied markets, watched trends, analyzed statistics and translated that information for real estate professionals as they have practised in their professions. As a result, I intimately understand how the supply of housing, regulatory costs and policy decisions shape the market in very tangible ways.
Housing policy at all levels of government is extremely important, and the results of these policies determine the success of our communities, whether families can build stability and grow net worth and whether young people can see a future in the areas where they live.
Let me start by saying that Conservatives support building more homes, and we support increasing supply because, most importantly, we support helping Canadians achieve home ownership and restoring their hope for home ownership. We know that home ownership lays a foundation for long-term stability and growth. Building equity through home ownership increases people's net worth while gaining a tangible asset that can appreciate over time. Beyond the financial benefits, owning a home also creates a sense of security, pride, freedom and control over one's future.
While we support building more homes as currently drafted, we cannot support Bill C-20. Canadians want urgency and ambition in housing policy. We share that urgency, but it must be matched with measurable outcomes. It must also reduce barriers to construction while also increasing more supply that is attached to ownership. In addition, builders across the country are asking for less government in the building process, not more, and we recognize that the only way we can build affordable housing to scale in this country is by limiting the role of government in the homebuilding process, not adding more. Canadians, rightfully, have a strong desire for home ownership, but that dream is slipping further out of reach.
The Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Realtors states, “Homeownership is the cornerstone of community stability, economic prosperity, and personal security. In Newfoundland and Labrador, this aspiration has long been within reach, with our province consistently reporting some of the highest rates of homeownership in Canada. It’s a reflection of our deep-rooted values: self-reliance, pride of place, and long-term investment in our families and neighbourhoods. But today, that dream is under growing threat. Challenges around housing supply, rising costs, and affordability are eroding access to ownership for many hardworking residents. If we wish to preserve this legacy and ensure future generations can share in the security and opportunity of owning a home, decisive action is needed from all levels of government.”
Across the country, 88% of Canadians under 45 say they would like to own a home one day, yet only 29% believe that they will be able to, while 66% of Canadians say that affordability in their community has worsened, and 62% of Canadians believe current plans will have little or no impact. When people lose confidence that their country can solve basic affordability, they lose hope for their future.
To restore that hope and to bring balance to housing supply, we know that housing starts must increase substantially, and current projections suggest housing starts could fall to roughly 212,000 annually within the next few years, far below what CMHC says is required to restore affordability. Most important, CMHC has also indicated that approximately 75% of the additional housing needed over the next decade must be intended for ownership, and if policy tools do not address that reality, the gap will persist.
Across Newfoundland and Labrador, we are experiencing record low inventory levels, which we have not witnessed since the post-World War II era. The supply of housing on NLAR's MLS system has been chronically low for four years. NLAR states that supply and demand are completely out of balance and, as a result, housing values have climbed by over 45%. In January 2020, the MLS home price index benchmark single-family home price in St. John's was $276,000. That has risen to $411,000 today, an increase of 48.9%, and the cost of new construction continues to grow. Inventory levels are at multidecade lows, and active listings have declined sharply. In many cases they are the lowest we have seen in more than 15 to 20 years, leaving far fewer homes available relative to demand.
In 2025, active listings in the province fell by nearly 22% compared to the previous year, and months-of-inventory figures remain well below long-term averages, signalling an exceptionally tight market. This lack of supply not only fuels upward price pressures, but also makes it harder for first-time homebuyers and young families in the province to put down roots and stay in the province. Addressing this supply imbalance must be a priority.
This is why the federal government's focus matters. CREA points out that governments must use existing levers to unlock supply where it is blocked. That means aligning infrastructure funding and federal housing programs with zoning modernization, reducing development charges, having faster permitting and measurable delivery expectations, and focusing on the barriers that stop builders from building and families from buying. That is not another housing bureaucracy. It is also a collaborative approach because it respects the roles of provinces and municipalities while insisting that federal dollars deliver real results.
In Newfoundland and Labrador, residential construction is closely tied to our economy, which is vital to the survival of our communities. According to the Canadian Home Builders Association of Newfoundland and Labrador, residential construction supports nearly 9,700 jobs in our province and generates approximately $712 million in wages each year. It represents roughly $1.9 billion in total investment.
In Corner Brook and surrounding areas, residential construction supports 481 jobs and represents approximately $93 million in total investment. Housing is one of the most important economic drivers in our region. When homebuilding slows, the impact is not confined to one sector; it affects trades people, suppliers, transport, small businesses and local communities.
Vacancy rates remain tight in parts of Newfoundland and Labrador, and rental costs have risen significantly since 2020. Employers in western Newfoundland tell me that housing shortages are limiting recruitment.
Rent is directly tied to housing costs. When development charges and construction costs rise, rents follow. Even in Newfoundland and Labrador, families are being priced out of rental housing, and that pressure spreads into every part of daily life.
This is why Conservatives are so focused on outcomes and accountability. Instead of a plan to build homes, Build Canada Homes would be a fourth housing bureaucracy delivering paycheques to bureaucrats. It is far from building at generational speeds, as it took nearly a year to introduce legislation that would still build no homes.
Let us not soon forget that the government promised 500,000 homes per year and to double the pace of home construction. Those are their words, not ours. The latest Statistics Canada numbers show that we are not just building fewer homes; we are permitting fewer too. The Parliamentary Budget Officer estimates that this program will deliver roughly 5,000 homes, which is about 1% of the promise. There are no binding build targets written into the law, no enforceable timelines and no accountability if these targets are missed. Bill C-20 would expand administration without guaranteeing delivery.
When Canadians are struggling to afford a home, they cannot afford more layers of process. The Build Canada Homes plan to build social housing on federal lands is fine and important, but it will only create a fraction of the supply Canada needs, and it would not meaningfully address ownership supply. If the ownership market remains constrained, prices will remain high, and the pressure will push down on renters and first-time homebuyers alike. That is why policy focused on the ownership share of new supply matters and why results matter.
In Newfoundland and Labrador and across Canada, home ownership remains the primary wealth-building tool for most families. It represents stability, opportunity and intergenerational security. Canadians deserve housing policy that is focused on results and prices that they can afford to restore the hope of home ownership and the promise of a bright future. This is why Conservatives are serious about restoring affordability.
We must focus on meaningful measures to increase the supply of homes for ownership. We can do that by tying infrastructure funding to measurable housing completion, reducing unnecessary regulatory costs that add thousands of dollars to the price of a home and ending the capital gains tax on reinvestment in new housing in Canada to unlock billions of dollars of investment in the country's homebuilding sector.
Conservatives are opposed to introducing further bureaucratic red tape in the housing sector, as it would further block development, increase the cost of government and not help solve the slow approval process. Builders across the country are asking for less government in the homebuilding process, not more, and we need more overall supply, which will bring prices down and make homes affordable for all Canadians.
