A Plan to Grow Our Economy and Make Life More Affordable, the Government of Canada will make targeted and responsible investments to create good jobs, grow our economy, and build a Canada where nobody is left behind.
Today, the President of the Treasury Board, the Honourable Mona Fortier, was in Brampton with Ruby Sahota, Member of Parliament for Brampton-North, Sonia Sidhu, Member of Parliament for Brampton South and Shafqat Ali, Member of Parliament for Brampton Centre, to highlight affordable housing investments at the Brampton Bramalea Christian Fellowship Residences. This 6-storey building provides 89 affordable rental accommodations to families. The project was funded in part by the National Housing Co-Investment Fund, which contributed $13.75 million in federal government financing.
Budget 2022 features new and important measures that support access to affordable housing for Canadians. These measures will help homebuyers save for and buy their first home, double housing construction over the next decade, ban foreign investment in Canadian housing, and curb unfair practices that make housing more expensive for Canadians.
A major barrier for many looking to own a home is the cost of a down payment, especially as home prices continue to climb. Budget 2022 proposes to introduce the Tax-Free First Home Savings Account that would give prospective first-time home buyers the ability to save up to $40,000. Like an RRSP, contributions would be tax-deductible, and withdrawals to purchase a first home-including investment income-would be non-taxable, like a TFSA. Tax-free in, tax-free out.
Ensuring that more affordable housing can be built quickly, Budget 2022 proposes to provide over $1.5 billion over two years, starting in 2022-23, to extend the Rapid Housing Initiative. This new funding is expected to create at least 6,000 new affordable housing units. These proposed programs are part of a suite of initiatives to support Canadians in having a safe and affordable place to call home.
Other Budget 2022 affordable housing measures include:
- protection for buyers and renters
- funding to fight homelessness and support housing affordability particularly for the most vulnerable
- investments in housing of Indigenous Peoples
