2025 Election Spotlight: The Role of Housing Policy in Capital, Construction, and Control

The federal election in Canada in 2025 is turning out to be a turning point for the real estate market. All major political parties are revealing audacious housing plans, with affordability, supply shortages, and investor influence as top priorities. Housing policy will determine the election and the direction of Canadian living, from unlocking capital to building new homes and applying legislative controls.

Housing Policy and Its Influence on the 2025 Canadian Election

The 2025 Canadian election has brought housing policy to the front stage in a nation where real estate is both a cultural fixation and a significant investing tool. Housing problems have become very personal and highly political, from generational wealth gaps to skyrocketing house prices. This election concerns who can afford a house in Canada, not only leadership.

Real Estate Market Realities

Long symbolizing more than just property ownership, the Canadian real estate market is a source of financial security, a retirement plan, and, for many, a family legacy. Still, this dream has drifted out of reach in recent years. Particularly in big cities like Toronto, Mississauga, Milton, Brampton, Oakville and Vancouver, rising interest rates, a limited supply of homes, and ongoing immigration-fueled demand have driven up prices.
Homebuyers deal with declining inventory and more fierce competition. Developers concurrently battle rising material costs, labor shortages, and regulatory red tape. For younger Canadians, owning a house now seems like a dream; housing starts far below what is required to meet demand.

Comparing Housing Policies Across Parties

The Conservative Proposal: Moving Capital Back Into the Economy

The Conservative Party’s housing policy is market-oriented. Their “Canada First Reinvestment Tax Cut” aims to unlock capital currently tied up in real estate and redirect it into more productive sectors of the economy.
This policy allows investors to defer capital gains tax if they sell properties and reinvest the proceeds into Canadian businesses—especially in areas like clean energy, tech, or manufacturing. Once freed from property, it’s a bet that capital can stimulate growth elsewhere and ease the housing supply by encouraging long-time property owners to sell.
This approach could appeal to older investors who have seen their real estate holdings appreciate significantly over the years. If they can sell without an immediate tax hit, they may be more willing to list their properties, freeing up housing for younger buyers.

Key Highlights:

• Inspired by the U.S. 1031 exchange
• Applies to property and other assets
  
• Tax deferral (not forgiveness)
  

The Liberal Vision: Build Canada Homes (BCH)

The Liberals, led by Mark Carney, are taking a more direct, supply-side approach. Their Build Canada Homes (BCH) initiative is the most ambitious construction plan in recent memory, aiming to double the nation’s annual housing output to 500,000 units.
Unlike past efforts, this plan heavily relies on the federal government’s involvement in land development, construction acceleration, and the incentivization of affordable housing. It promotes using public land and modern building methods like prefabrication to reduce costs and timelines.

Key Features of BCH:

• Development on federal/public land
• Investment in prefab construction
• GST removed for homes under $1M (first-time buyers)
• Faster zoning approvals

Yet the scale of this ambition raises legitimate questions: Can the federal government coordinate such an effort with provincial and municipal authorities? Given Canada's ongoing labor and resource constraints, can it deliver half a million homes annually?

The NDP Approach: Affordability, Not Speculation

The New Democratic Party offers a radically different lens, framing housing not as a market commodity but as a human right. Their strategy centers on increasing affordability and reducing speculative pressures that drive up costs.
One of their key proposals is a federally backed, low-interest fixed mortgage product for first-time buyers. In a high-interest environment, this could bring much-needed relief and make homeownership a viable option again for many families.
The NDP also targets corporate landlords, prohibiting large firms from acquiring affordable housing units. They support co-operative and non-profit housing models as viable alternatives to for-profit development. The focus is on preserving affordability and community stability rather than maximizing returns.

NDP Pillars:

• Fixed-rate, low-interest mortgages for first-time buyers
• Investment in co-op and non-profit housing
• Restrictions on corporate landlord acquisitions

This ideological shift has advantages: Prioritizing long-term affordability can create a more equitable market. However, it could deter private developers crucial to the housing supply, especially if regulatory burdens grow too heavy.

Why First-Time Buyers Are So Important

Much of the policy attention is rightly focused on first-time homebuyers—for good reason. According to the Bank of Canada, they account for nearly half of all home purchases nationwide. When first-time buyers enter the market, the housing ecosystem becomes more fluid. Sellers move to bigger homes, developers see increased absorption rates, and pressure on the rental market eases.
Without first-time buyers, the system clogs, the dream of ownership fades, and generational equity becomes an even more distant goal.

A Defining Issue for the Future

While the housing policies proposed by the Conservatives, Liberals, and NDP differ in approach and philosophy, they all agree that Canada’s housing system is not functioning as it should. Whether it’s through unlocking capital, building homes at scale, or curbing speculative forces, each party offers its version of a solution.
But these aren’t just policy proposals—they’re roadmaps for how Canada will look in the next decade. Will we be a nation where homeownership is a widespread reality or a country where wealth and housing access are increasingly concentrated?
As voters head to the polls in 2025, housing will determine who wins the election and who gets to call Canada home.

FAQs

1. Why is housing a big election issue in 2025?

Affordability, low supply, and high demand have made homeownership out of reach for many Canadians.

2. What’s the Conservative housing plan?

Tax deferral for investors who reinvest in Canadian businesses—aiming to unlock housing supply.

3. What’s in the Liberals' Build Canada Homes plan?

500,000 homes/year, public land use, prefab builds, and GST cuts for homes under $1M.

4. What is the NDP proposing?

Low-interest mortgages, co-op housing, and restrictions on corporate landlords.