The federal government's proposal to boost new housing construction by 20,000 homes a year is a fraction of the number needed, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) figures released yesterday. They said current building trends are short by 400,000 a year..“We understand that housing is one of the most difficult issues,” said Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland. She told the House of Commons that affordability “is a very important and very difficult issue for many Canadian families.".According to Blacklock's Reporter, Freeland in her April 7 budget proposed a $4 billion subsidy to municipalities to “target the creation of 100,000 net new housing units over the next five years” or 20,000 annually. CMHC said the shortfall is closer to 3.53 million homes by 2030 or more than 440,000 homes annually..“To restore affordability we need 3.5 million additional housing units beyond current projections,” said a CMHC report. “The size of the number should make all of us who form part of the housing market system realize we have a large task in front of us.”.Condos, townhouses and single family homes in Canada currently number 16 million. Construction at current rates adds an average 200,000 new homes each year, by official estimate..“On current trends the housing stock increases from about 16 million in 2019 to over 18.6 million by 2030 for Canada,” said a report. “We project that over 22 million units will be required to achieve affordability.”.“The private sector will be critical in addressing this supply shortfall,” wrote analysts. “For their part governments can help by ensuring the regulatory process is as efficient as possible.”.New Democrat leader Jagmeet Singh yesterday told the House Commons that immediate measures were needed. “The government is just waiting to see if it will go away,” said Singh. “It is not going to go away on its own.”.“When will it act?” asked Singh. “We are very aware of the need to build more housing,” replied Housing Minister Ahmed Hussen..The CMHC study followed March 3 testimony by Canada’s chief bank inspector that the housing supply had a “structural mismatch” equivalent to a shortfall of about 40,000 homes annually. The figure was based on immigration and demographic trends, alone..“I do worry about the structural mismatch,” Peter Routledge, superintendent of financial institutions, testified at the Senate banking committee. “We have new Canadians arriving and young Canadians leaving home and creating households with about 250,000 households being formed every year in Canada,” said Routledge. “However we’re probably completing 200,000 to 210,000 houses every year.
