Industry leaders said Ottawa’s plan risks fewer homes and major job losses
Canada’s top housing groups warned that Budget 2025 fails to tackle the sector’s deepening crisis and could put 100,000 jobs at risk.
The Large Urban Centre Alliance, a coalition representing major cities and co-facilitated by the Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD), said the government’s approach relies on “backward-looking data that provides false reassurances that Canada’s housing sector is prospering and that affordability is improving.”
Canadian home values have soared over the past three decades, with major urban centres experiencing triple-digit gains driven by population growth and shifting policy levers, according to a new REMAX Canada report.
Halifax, the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and Saskatoon led the nation, with average prices rising between 377% and 460% since 1994.
Meanwhile, economists including Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) deputy chief economist Benjamin Tal have flagged the risk that Canada’s economy is in a worse position than official figures indicate – and has even potentially entered a recession.
David Wilkes, BILD president and CEO, said, “These are stale statistics. The latest figures show that new home sales have evaporated across all housing types in every major city across Canada – and a hundred thousand jobs are at risk.”
Toronto’s unemployment rate rose to 8.9% in September 2025, TD Economics reported, the fourth-highest among major Canadian cities. Analysts cited rapid labour force growth, trade tensions, and a slowdown in construction as key factors driving the rise.https://t.co/ENaj17tPRp
— Canadian Mortgage Professional Magazine (@CMPmagazine) November 3, 2025
Industry data shows year-to-date new home sales have plummeted compared to the 10-year average: single-family and condo sales fell 82% in the Greater Toronto Area, 81% in the Greater Golden Horseshoe, 67% in Vancouver, 40% in Calgary, and 33% in Edmonton. Montreal’s condo sales dropped 75%.
Budget 2025’s headline housing measure—a GST/HST rebate increase for first-time buyers on homes up to $1 million—was dismissed by the Alliance as too narrow.
“With this narrow application, the GST/HST on new homes will continue to erode affordability for Canadians in large urban centres where the need is greatest, leaving middle class buyers behind,” Wilkes said.
The budget’s $12 billion allocation for housing-enabling infrastructure was acknowledged, but the industry flagged the government’s retreat from its earlier promise to halve municipal development charges.
“The commitment is now only a framework for federal, territorial, and provincial agreements, not an actionable plan to reduce municipal housing fees with any sense of urgency,” Wilkes said.
Notably absent was the anticipated Multi-Unit Residential Building (MURB) tax incentive, a measure widely viewed as critical for boosting rental construction.
The only bright spot, according to Wilkes, was increased funding for CMHC’s Apartment Construction Loan Program—though he stressed this is a loan, not a grant, and “will have marginal impact in lowering costs to future renters.”
The Alliance called on Ottawa to extend GST/HST exemptions to all new home buyers, keep its election pledge to reduce development charges by 50%, and deliver the MURB tax incentive. “The industry stands ready to work with all levels of government to confront this growing crisis head-on,” Wilkes said.
As policymakers debate the path forward, industry leaders warn that without bold, immediate action, Canada’s housing crisis could worsen, leaving fewer homes, higher costs, and tens of thousands of jobs on the line.
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