Jagmeet Singh Wants to Keep the Dream of Home Ownership Alive

BURNABY- On Wednesday, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh announced another step in his plan to take real action to address the housing crisis. When it comes to tackling the housing crisis, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh and the NDP team are on the side of Canadians with solutions that will make it easier to own a home now.

“For too many Canadians, the dream of owning a home seems further away than ever. First time buyers are struggling to get into the market as they watch prices spiral upward, putting home ownership more and more out of reach,” said Singh. “Trudeau’s Liberals haven’t done anything to make home ownership more accessible for young Canadians. They simply don’t get it. We must take immediate action to put the dream of home ownership within reach for more Canadian families.”

New Democrats led the way in calling for bold action to build more affordable and social housing across the country. Now it’s time to do the same for home ownership for the next generation. Jagmeet Singh is calling on Trudeau’s Liberal government to re-introduce 30-year terms to CMHC insured mortgages on entry level homes for first time home buyers and provide resources to facilitate co-housing, and to ease access to financing by offering CMHC-backed co-ownership mortgages. These measures are in addition to what the NDP has previously called for in the next budget to bring immediate relief to the families that need it, and address the housing crisis in the long term.

“Liberal and Conservative governments in Ottawa made choices that caused the housing crisis in the first place. How can we count on them to deliver real help to Canadians looking to get into the housing market?” asked Singh. “It’s time to get creative and put forward some real solutions to the challenges that families face in buying their first home - ideas that help families make ends meet every month.”

The Liberal government voted against the NDP’s plans to bring immediate relief to Canadians caught in the housing crisis, and are instead focused on inflating housing numbers to their “rhetorical advantage”, as Liberal Housing Spokesperson Adam Vaughan recently admitted.

"My spouse and I were lucky enough to purchase our small condo in Vancouver as first time home buyers 11 years ago in large part because of the 30 year term. It was just enough to let us qualify for a mortgage. It's so important to give people the tools to allow them to achieve home ownership and escape the cycle of renting in an increasingly uncertain housing market. We've been able to make extra payments along the way and happily are due to be paid in full in under 20 years. The 30 year term gave us that opportunity and we would love to see it reinstated," said Kim Glennie, a Vancouver-based artist and musician.

The NDP has a bold plan to:

• Build 500,000 affordable homes over the next ten years
• Immediately invest into building co-operative and non-market affordable housing units
• Eliminate GST on new construction projects that include a significant amount of affordable housing units
• Increase the first-time home buyers tax credit and offer immediate relief to Canadians who are spending more than 30% of their income on rent.