Canada’s Housing System Is Officially Broken

The hosts open with the revelation that Mark Carney’s much-promoted housing plan has collapsed under basic scrutiny: despite promising 500,000 new homes per year for five years, the Parliamentary Budget Officer now says only 26,000 units will be built in total—about 5,200 per year, a number so tiny the hosts call it “nowhere close” to what Canada needs. They note that this isn’t surprising: construction has slowed sharply, especially in the condo sector, where unaffordable prices have paused or killed projects. Government claims of “new modular technology” and Carney’s corporate ties only deepen their skepticism, with the hosts saying the entire promise rests on assumptions that were never realistic.

They then zoom out to the broader structural problem: a housing market kept inflated by political and financial interests even as the public suffers. Investors have pulled out of Canada not because of tenant rules, the hosts argue, but because the old game of flipping pre-construction condos for fast profits is dead. Many buyers are now stuck with units they cannot sell at prices they cannot carry. With inventories piling up and Toronto requiring roughly $220,000 in income just to participate in the market, the hosts say housing has ceased to function as shelter and instead exists as a speculative commodity propped up by those with the most to lose if prices fall.

Finally, they turn to the impact on everyday Canadians: a country where housing exists, but almost none of it is affordable. Mortgage payments of $4,000–$6,000 for “shoebox” condos leave people spending over 50% of their income just to keep a roof over their heads. The hosts describe a growing class of “house-poor” Canadians, trapped between unaffordable ownership and an unworkable rental market. With investors fleeing, politicians raising taxes, and no meaningful supply increase coming, they conclude that Canada is in a “sad state of affairs” driven by greed and failed policy—one that will not improve unless the system itself changes.

https://www.junonews.com/p/pbo-carney-housing-plan-will-only

0:02 – Carney’s 500,000-Home Promise Falls Apart
1:00 – Why Only 26,000 Homes Will Be Built
2:00 – Construction Slowdown & Condo Market Reality
3:49 – Housing Bubble, Investors Pulling Out
5:45 – The End of Fast Condo Profits
7:56 – Canadians Become House-Poor as Affordability Collapses

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