Poilievre calls on Liberals to enact Conservative election pledges on housing

By Canadian Press on September 9, 2025.

OTTAWA — Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says he wants Prime Minister Mark Carney to adopt his plan to deal with the country’s housing crisis.

Poilievre says the Liberals should eliminate the federal sales tax on all homes worth $1.3 million or less and incentivize municipalities to speed up permits and cut development charges.

He also says the government needs to get immigration “under control,” arguing that the large influx of newcomers over the past decade has caused housing shortages.

The Tory leader says the housing bubble is bursting and homebuilding is expected to slow in the next two years.

A new report from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation says Toronto is on pace for its lowest annual housing starts in 30 years, and there’s been a slowdown in construction in Vancouver.

But the agency also says construction came close to a record pace in the first half of this year in Calgary, Edmonton, Montreal, Ottawa and Halifax.

— With files from Maan Alhmidi in Brampton, Ont.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 9, 2025.

The Canadian Press