Should home prices go down? “No,” says Canada’s new housing minister

When asked if he thought housing prices needed to come down, newly-sworn in Housing Minister Gregor Robertson told reporters affordable supply of homes was “the big need right now” amid Canada’s housing crisis.

Admitting it would be “very ambitious” and take “several years,” Robertson said Wednesday that the Liberal government needs to “double construction" rather than reduce the cost of homes.

“We need to be delivering more affordable housing. The Government of Canada has not been building affordable housing since the ’90s and we’ve created a huge shortage across Canada,” he said.

When asked Tuesday why Robertson – whose term as mayor saw property prices in Vancouver skyrocket – was the right choice for housing minister, Prime Minister Mark Carney said, “he brings the type of experience that we need to tackle some aspects of this problem.”