Let’s talk

It’s time we adults had a chat about politicians and houses.

To wit, is it the government’s responsibility to house people? If so, what people? And to what extent? This recalls our chat the other day about capitalism and socialism, ansd how the kiddos are dissing the former and cozying up to the latter.

It’s also germane to mention the Condo Caper. The rabble lost it when Carney and Eby suggested spending more than a billion to acquire 2,200 new, unsold condos at a distressed price to become rent-to-own affordable units.

That, cried the critics, led on by the pesky Con leader, was a bailout of developers who could not sell those homes. Let ’em go bankrupt the crowd screamed. We’re not gonna socialize losses!

So confusing. Do we want state-built/financed housing, or not? Is it fair to those paying market prices to own a home or market rent to lease one to have other people gifted a place to live? Or even subsidized? With tax money?

Of course, government used to build ‘social housing’, just like the commies. And everybody in North Korea gets a home, for free – so long as you have the same haircut. And remember Victory Houses? Canada built about 30,000 of these sweet little 700-square-foot prefab houses during and following WW2. In fact today’s CMHC started out as a crown corp called Wartime Housing Limited. Homes were built at speed then rented or sold to the families of veterans or munitions workers. Thousands of them still stand.

The feds toyed more than a year ago with then idea of bringing back standardized mini-house designs, but that has apparently fizzled.

In place we have the Build Canada Homes, a $13-billion behemoth which is doing stuff like (maybe) buying those thousands of BC condos, giving municipalities vast sums of money to cut the development fees builders must pay, and directly subsidizing new construction.

Here’s an example, announced Friday. The feds are giving Toronto $13 million for a 14-storey rental building to replace an existing 4-storey walkup in the core (Danforth Avenue). Of the 300 units, 40 will be ‘affordable’ with units set aside for homeless people. And the building will be the permanent home of a French-language theatrical group. The people kicked out of the existing building will get units in the new one at the same rent.

The week before the feds announced $133 million for a 29-storey building in Toronto with 294 affordable rental units dedicated to senior Indigenous tenants, led by the Missanabie Cree First Nation. Concurrently, Ottawa and the province gave Toronto $1.5 billion to cut the fees charged developers by at least 40%. BC got $3.2 billion for the same reason.

In case you missed them, announcements like these are being made every single week. In this context, the $145 million Ottawa is chipping in to buy those empty Van-area condos is moot. Almost a rounding error. And lost in the uproar was the fact that after BC threw in its cash, the deal would be financed with about $1.5 billion in debt and private capital until the units are sold to residents.

Now here’s the question: is government wrong to be embarking on this housing odyssey? Or is building rental housing – with a focus on disadvantaged groups – exactly what public money should be used for (since capitalism sucks)?

Of course, none of the above seems destined to make real estate cost any less for middle class families, or sate all those whiny young adults who crave what their parents owned at their age. As this blog has suggested, the correction is largely over. There is no half-off sale coming. The market isn’t crashing. And won’t. This does not mean prices romp higher. It simply means they don’t romp lower.

So should politicians bulk-buy those unsold west coast condos and push valuations lower? Are they right to subsidize the urban homeless, native populations and developers in Toronto?

By the way, construction starts in Calgary have crashed. Good thing the feds are spending $25 million to put up a four-storey building and ten townhouses – specifically designated for women and children.

It’s 2026. Everybody gets a bailout.

About the picture: “Hi Garth, I don’t have my own dog, but I dog sit and walk a few in my neighborhood,” writes Kim. “I never thought I would love a little dog but then along came Mack, my most favorite little guy.  He is a Tibetan Spaniel that is full of mischief, a strong opponent in play fighting and has the soul of a lion.  I would take him for good if his owner’s let me. I’ve enjoyed your blog for years.  I only invested in term deposits, but reading your blog convinced me to invest with Turner Investments.  The best decision, hands down, that I EVER made.  Thank you so much for your help.”

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Source: https://www.greaterfool.ca/2026/08/03/lets-talk/