Federal Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland delivered the 2023 Fall Economic Statement Tuesday, and the importance of building more homes faster was the underlying message.

Freeland announced the new Canadian Mortage Charter, which aims to provide mortgage holders in financial difficulty with receive mortgage relief measures from their federally regulated financial institutions.

To build more affordable housing, Freeland also announced an additional $1 billion over three years, starting in 2025, for the Affordable Housing Fund. This investment aims to support housing providers in building more than 7,000 new homes by 2028.

She also stated that the government will begin cracking down on short-term rentals on sites such as Airbnb. For example, the government intends to deny income tax deductions for expenses incurred to earn short-term rental income.

A new tax-free first home savings account was also introduced, which she hopes will assist young Canadians in buying their first home.
Freeland relayed many of Canada’s recent financial achievements she delivered the statement in the House of Commons.

These include getting childcare fees down by at least 50 per cent across Canada, the country receiving the third most foreign direct investment of any other country, and one million more Canadians becoming employed compared to a year ago today.

She added that her government has reduced their deficit faster than any other country in the G7. Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre took issue with all of it.

“This update can be summed up very simply. Price sup, rent up, debt up, taxes up, times up. Common sense Conservatives will vote non-confidence,” he firmly announced.

He says in one year, Freeland has announced $100 billion dollars in additional debt, which is already being paid by Canadians with the worst inflation in 40 years.