Taking Action on Housing Affordability

I’ve been listening to our community through my survey.

Preliminary responses have shown that 68% of community members think affordable housing is a top priority, while 70% think safe, attainable housing for vulnerable and precariously housed persons is a top priority.

Over the past six years, the Liberal government has been working to increase affordable and attainable housing.

Meanwhile, the Conservatives remain focused on partisan misinformation instead of constructive solutions. I want to bust a myth the current Cloverdale - Langley City Member of Parliament keeps repeating.

Myth: Conservatives have claimed the Liberals have a "secret plan” to implement a tax on up to 50% of the profits on the sale of your home.

Reality: This claim is referring to charging capital gains on the sale of your home. After 6 years of a Liberal government, Canada does not have a capital gains tax on a primary residence, and this will not change. In fact, capital gains are only paid on 50% of the profit made when selling an asset (for example: an income property, stocks, etc.).

Now that we’ve talked about what the Liberals aren’t doing, let’s talk about what they are doing!

Tackling Foreign Home Buying and Money Laundering

Cloverdale - Langley City is one of the youngest ridings in BC, with more and more young families moving to our community every year. Our Liberal government is taking action on sky-high home prices so that these families can afford a home of their own.

One approach our Liberal government is taking is to tackle foreign buying which distorts the market and drives up the cost of homes. Budget 2021 introduced a new 1% tax that will apply to vacant or underused properties in Canada owned by foreign investors.

In addition, through Budget 2021 the government announced $2.1 million to establish a publicly accessible corporate beneficial-ownership registry by the year 2025. This will prevent crooks from hiding dirty money in complicated corporate structures or shell companies and take some air out of Canada’s housing bubble.

Sadly, our Conservative MP voted against taking any action on foreign buying.

Mortgage Stress Test: Friend or Foe?

Our government has implemented a mortgage stress test, which is intended to help cool extremely hot housing prices and hopefully help first-time buyers enter the market. I know many folks feel conflicted about the stress test - and some feel it’s a barrier to first-time home buyers.

The intended benefit is to ensure people can pay their mortgages if interest rates were to rise. This is evermore important right now with bidding wars, high-priced homes, and low-interest rates. The stress test helps ensure that a market correction doesn’t become an economic collapse as we saw in the USA in 2008.

Reducing Chronic Homelessness by 50%

By implementing the National Housing Strategy, the Liberal government directly supported our community’s most vulnerable persons and created tens of thousands of units of affordable housing. As a result, they’re on track to reduce chronic homelessness by 50%. By supporting mixed-market housing projects, the Liberal government is increasing the supply of both low-income, and mid-income units.

Tell Me What You Think!

It’s time for a driven, proven, and progressive leader who listens to families, seniors, local businesses, and puts the needs of the community first.

That’s why I want to know what you think about housing in our community. Take my five-minute survey and tell me how I can help make housing more affordable and what other issues are most important to you and your family.