Canada’s massive multi-billion dollar program to create affordable housing will only have a “limited” impact. That’s the take from the non-partisan Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO), tasked with explaining the numbers behind policies, to lawmakers. They found the federal program is billed as a “$70+ billion plan,” but failed to find a significant impact. In fact, in some cases they indicate it might be taking credit for existing supply in the pipeline. It’s actually generous to say it does nothing though. The plan creates an environment that actually attempts to drive home prices higher.

Canada’s $73.4 Billion Affordable Housing Plan
First, let’s start with the PBO’s breakdown of where the $73.4 billion in spending actually comes from:

The CMHC is delivering $36.7 billion to execute the National Housing Strategy from 2018 to 2028;
An additional $24.4 billion will be delivered through the same plan; and
Existing spending represents $12.3 billion of funding.
That’s not all. according to the PBO. On top of that, new and existing loan authorities get $31.2 billion. Non-incremental provincial-territorial cost matching, also adds up to another $7.4 billion. Though they explain these commitments aren’t a budget issue for the Federal government. They are commitments undertaken by other taxpayer entities…read more.