By Kevin Lee, CHBA CEO
Those who work in the residential construction industry know how deeply Canadians value homeownership. Yet housing policy since last year’s federal election campaign has reverted to a focus on affordable (social) housing, after years of success by the Association in getting government to prioritize solutions that support homeownership and market-rate affordability. The good news is that those much-needed policy changes have not been walked back, but the path forward requires a heavier hand to keep that momentum going – and CHBA is hard at work on that front.
Build Canada Homes
Initiatives such as Build Canada Homes – which plans to build subsidized housing primarily on federal lands – are important to support our most vulnerable. But make no mistake: Build Canada Homes will not solve affordability challenges for most Canadians, as it will create only about one per cent of the new construction – nowhere near what is needed to close the housing supply gap and help improve affordability. It will support those in core housing need, which is important, but it will not help the 95 per cent of Canadians who live in market-rate housing, and also need support in this housing crisis, especially aspiring homeowners. Canada needs policies that support the construction of housing across the entire continuum, of all forms and tenure.
To quantify that Canadians share this same concern, CHBA commissioned Abacus Data, a top public opinion polling firm, to poll the public on housing affordability and expectations of the government. The results confirmed what industry professionals hear every day: Canadians still believe in the dream of owning a home, but they are losing confidence that it will ever be possible. They also know that government leadership is needed to help make that dream a reality.
According to the polling, 88 per cent of Canadians younger than 45 say they want to own a home one day, yet only 29 per cent of non-homeowners think they will actually be able to do so. Meanwhile, fewer than one in five Canadians are satisfied with federal efforts to improve affordability for homeownership, and once informed about Build Canada Homes’ scope, 78 per cent say the government must do much more to address market-rate housing challenges. The data is clear: Canadians don’t think the government is doing enough to increase market-rate housing supply, restore affordability and bring back confidence in homeownership.
Data-driven insights, such as those coming out of CHBA’s Housing Market Index (HMI) and new Renovation Market Index (RMI), have been invaluable for CHBA’s advocacy work on members’ behalf. We used the Abacus polling data strategically around CHBA’s Day on the Hill in early February to re-ignite the conversation both in the public sphere and amongst policymakers. A week ahead of the Day on the Hill – which supports CHBA’s year-round advocacy efforts by bringing association leadership to Ottawa to meet with parliamentarians – we co-released the research with Abacus Data, which made a splash in the media and drummed up interest to meet with our delegates. We also leveraged the Abacus data in our CHBA policy infoguide for government, as well as took out several strategic digital and out-of-home ad placements targeted at MPs and policymakers.
Leveraging data to illustrate need for holistic policies
There is no doubt this research, and its accompanying marketing campaign, has made an impact. In 84 meetings with MPs and policymakers (a record number), it helped drive the message home that action cannot be exclusively on Build Canada Homes, setting the stage for CHBA delegates to deliver recommendations for change for the full market with one cohesive voice. The result has been strong interest from policymakers in working together to improve Canada’s housing outcomes, which we look forward to nurturing throughout the year, with the next big marker being the Spring Economic Statement.
Moving forward, the local, provincial and national levels of CHBA will continue to leverage this data to illustrate the need for holistic policies at all levels of government that support homeownership affordability to get more shovels in the ground and support renovations that create added housing supply. Rest assured, CHBA is keeping our foot on the gas.
A full rundown of CHBA’s Day on the Hill is available on page 16. To read CHBA’s full suite of recommendations to the federal government on how to restore homeownership affordability, visit affordability.ca.
