Prime Minister Mark Carney says no developer directly lobbied him to support a proposed $1.45 billion federal-provincial plan to purchase thousands of unsold condominium units in British Columbia, while acknowledging his government has failed to clearly explain the controversial proposal.Speaking to reporters Thursday, Carney defended the plan but admitted Canadians have not received a clear explanation of how it would work."I want to say upfront, I don't think we've done, myself included, a particularly good job of rolling this out and explaining exactly what it is," Carney said, adding that no final decision has been made.Asked whether developers had requested the program, Carney replied: "No developer asked for this from me, directly."Blacklock's Reporter said the proposal, announced June 18 as a partnership with the Government of British Columbia, would see governments acquire more than 2,200 vacant condominium units and make them available through affordable housing programs, including rent-to-own arrangements.Carney said the federal government would potentially provide about 10% of the financing, or roughly $145 million, while the combined federal and provincial value of the initiative would total about $1.45 billion."We would be buying distressed condos," Carney said. "Of course developers aren't going to admit that they are going to have distressed condos. We don't care about the developer. We care about the person, the family that can potentially move into the home."He said purchasing discounted units could create opportunities for Canadians, particularly young families unable to afford a down payment."Rent-to-buy. So there's an opportunity there," Carney said.However, he acknowledged the final structure has yet to be determined.When asked whether all purchased units would be offered through rent-to-own agreements, Carney replied: "It depends on what's available."No legislative text or detailed program framework has been released..Carney said any eventual purchases would be evaluated individually based on their financial merits rather than the overall concept.Conservative MPs have launched petitions opposing the proposal, describing it as a taxpayer-funded bailout for condominium developers, investors and financial institutions.The petition argues Liberal insiders are asking taxpayers to rescue developers and speculators who made poor investment decisions on luxury condominium projects.Carney also declined to say whether he holds investments connected to Vancouver residential developments through Brookfield Asset Management, where he previously disclosed owning millions of dollars in company shares tied to Ontario real estate holdings.During the 2025 federal election campaign, then-New Democratic Party leader Jagmeet Singh accused Carney of benefiting personally from Canada's housing affordability crisis through his role as chair of Brookfield."He personally profited from it," Singh said at the time, arguing Carney earned millions in stock options while housing became increasingly unaffordable.Singh also pointed to an August 2023 Brookfield shareholder letter in which the company's chief executive described periods of market distress as "our sweet spot," saying the firm expected investors to capitalize on opportunities created by capital shortages in the real estate market.
