Ottawa Real Estate Board’s Statement on the 2025 Federal Election
April 2, 2025
The 2025 federal election comes at a time of profound economic uncertainty. Global trade disruptions, rising inflation, and the looming threat of renewed U.S. tariffs have put pressure on Canada’s economic resilience. Amid these challenges, there is no path to long-term economic stability without tackling Canada and Ottawa’s housing affordability and supply crisis.
The Ottawa Real Estate Board (OREB) is calling on all federal parties to treat housing as a national economic priority— and to back it up with real policy change. Housing is not just a social issue it is economic infrastructure. If workers and families cannot afford to live where jobs are, if employers cannot attract talent, and if young people have no path to ownership, Canada loses. Canada must dramatically lower the cost of building new homes and increase the speed by which they are brought to market. OREB is urging all federal parties to adopt three key recommendations:
1. Lower taxes and charges that block homebuilding
In many parts of Canada, government taxes & fees represent over a third of the final purchase costs of a new home. In Canada, we tax housing like we want less of it – not more. Eliminating the GST on all new homes under $1 million is a great first step. Canada must step up with more support for local governments to help them with the costs of housing enabling infrastructure. We cannot continue to tax housing so heavily if we want to build more of it.
2. Streamline approvals to speed up supply.
Excessive red tape is slowing down housing construction across the country. The federal government must work with provinces and municipalities to create performance-based funding models that reward faster, more predictable planning timelines. Here in Ottawa, this should include making it easier to accelerate the disposition of federal lands for affordable housing.
3. Accelerate innovation in housing.
Whether it’s factory-built modular homes or AI supported permitting platforms, innovation must be part of the solution to build more homes. The federal government can lead by offering tax credits, grants to municipalities and investing in housing sector research.
When it comes to clearing the way for more housing, its time to get our elbows up. A stronger more economically resilient Canada must include affordable homes for workers and families.
Paul Czan
2025 OREB President
