Mr. Speaker, yes it is. Conservatives believe that the only way to restore the dream of home ownership in stable rental markets is to unleash supply at scale.
Our approach is clear. First, we would cut the GST on all new homes under $1.3 million. That would save families up to $65,000 and immediately stimulate construction activity across the country. Second, we would tie federal infrastructure dollars to homebuilding performance. Municipalities must permit at least 15% more homebuilding each year in order to receive full federal funding. If cities want transit dollars, they would have to approve homes near transit. If they want infrastructure dollars, they would have to permit growth.
Third, we would cut development charges by 50%. These charges can add hundreds of thousands of dollars to the cost of a home before a shovel has even hit the ground. The Liberals promised to address development charges during the last election campaign, but they have failed to deliver. Last, we would end the capital gains tax on reinvestment in new housing in Canada. This would unlock billions of dollars in private capital, directing investments into Canada homebuilding instead of watching it flee to foreign markets like America.
These are measures that would address the underlying economics of supply. Bill C-20 would not; instead, it would grow the footprint of government in a sector that is already burdened by regulation, taxation and delay. It would further centralize authority in Ottawa, when what we need is to cut red tape and accelerate approvals.
Every year of delay means higher rents, higher mortgages and fewer opportunities for young Canadians to own a home. Every new layer of bureaucracy adds time. Time adds cost, cost adds price, and price erodes affordability. Throwing billions more dollars at redundant bureaucracies would not fix our supply crisis.
The government argues that converting Build Canada Homes into a Crown corporation would provide flexibility and independence, but independence without a plan is meaningless. Governance reform without cost reform does not lower prices. The central question is simple: Would the bill dramatically increase the number of homes built at a lower cost? The PBO says it would not; it would duplicate existing CMHC programs, produce a fraction of the promised homes and spend millions of dollars to underachieve. That is not what the Prime Minister promised Canadians when he took office.
Conservatives recognize that housing affordability is not merely a line item in a budget. It is about generational equity and whether young Canadians can start families, seniors can downsize with dignity, workers can live near their jobs, and communities can grow sustainably. When the private sector is ready and willing to build, the government's rule should be to remove obstacles, not to create them. Canadians deserve results, not rebranding. They deserve homes, not headlines.
Bill C-20 would expand bureaucracy, duplicate existing programs and fall dramatically short of the government's own promises. Instead, I ask for support of our Conservative plan for homebuilding: to focus on letting builders build, on cutting costs and on restoring the dream of home ownership for the next generation of Canadians.