OTTAWA – Federal Housing Minister Gregor Robertson says the average price of housing – not necessarily the value of individual homes – needs to fall to restore affordability in Canada.
OTTAWA – Federal Housing Minister Gregor Robertson says the average price of housing – not necessarily the value of individual homes – needs to fall to restore affordability in Canada.
Robertson appeared before the House of Commons finance committee on Monday, answering MPs' questions about the Liberal government's affordability legislation.
In his opening statement, he acknowledged that Canada faces a “housing crisis” but argued that the federal Liberals would take action to reduce the cost of owning a home and increase housing supply.
Conservative MP Aaron Gunn asked the minister if he still believes that housing prices in Canada don't need to fall, citing comments Robertson made after he was sworn into cabinet in May.
Robertson focused his response on average house prices.
“Let's be clear: We need to get the average home price for Canadians down. We need to build a lot more non-market housing to get those average costs down,” he said Monday.
When asked in May if he thought house prices needed to be reduced, Robertson replied “no”.
“I think we need to provide more supply and make sure the market is stable. It's a big part of our economy, but we need to provide more affordable housing,” he said at the time.
Housing affordability has been a key issue on Parliament Hill for years, as housing prices have risen rapidly in recent decades, discouraging many potential buyers from homeownership.
Non-profit organization Generation Squeeze, which advocates for intergenerational equity in government policy, said in a 2022 report that the average number of years it took Canadians to save for a 20 per cent down payment on a typical home increased to 17 years in 2021, up from seven years in 2001.
The situation was even bleaker in the Greater Toronto Area and Greater Vancouver, where the average home buyer had to save for 27 years as of 2021 to make a down payment on a home nearby.
Generation Squeeze found at the time that the national average home price would have to fall by $341,000 or full-time income would have to double for the typical young person to afford a mortgage on a prestigious home.
Paul Kershaw, founder of Generation Squeeze, recently told The Canadian Press that the number of years needed to save for a down payment in 2024 is closer to 13.7 nationally, following a decline in average home prices across Canada following the pandemic.
Much of his time before the committee on Monday, Robertson spent defending the previous Liberal government's housing record and his own tenure as mayor of Vancouver from 2008 to 2018, a period during which local property values rose significantly.
Robertson said his experience in Vancouver showed him the many challenges that come with how housing “works at a local level.” He said he understands how to work together between local, regional and federal housing authorities to build affordable housing.
He also said housing prices were already skyrocketing before his election or the election of Justin Trudeau's first Liberal government in 2015, particularly on the West Coast.
“Probably since I was born, housing has become less and less affordable. Naturally, that has increased over many decades,” he said.
Robertson said population growth is a factor in housing affordability, but did not directly answer a question about whether he believes federal immigration policies over the past decade have made housing less affordable.
Robertson argued that the Liberal government's Bill C-4 – the stated theme for its appearance in committee – would help Canadians break into the property market.
This legislation includes a proposal for first-time home buyers to receive up to $50,000 in federal tax breaks for a new home valued at up to $1 million. The GST rebate reduces for more expensive homes up to $1.5 million.
The Liberal government estimates the tax break would apply to nearly 47,000 new homes each year.
Robertson also said Ottawa's new agency, Build Canada Homes, will help restore market affordability in the coming years by building the type of non-market housing that Canada has lacked in recent decades.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 20, 2025.
Craig Lord, The Canadian Press