Should home prices go down? ’No,’ says Canada’s new housing minister

Higher housing supply, not lowering home prices, are the solution for Canada’s housing crisis, Canada’s new housing minister said on Wednesday.

Gregor Robertson, the former Vancouver mayor who was sworn in as housing minister in Prime Minister Mark Carney’s new cabinet on Tuesday, attended the first meeting of the new cabinet on Wednesday.

When asked by reporters if he thinks home prices need to go down, he told reporters: “No, I think that we need to deliver more supply, make sure the market is stable.”

Robertson said his work as housing minister will focus on building up supply of affordable housing in Canada.

“We need to be delivering more affordable housing. The Government of Canada has not been building affordable housing since the ’90s and we’ve created a huge shortage across Canada,” he said.

“That’s where the big need is right now and I’m very encouraged that the prime minister and our commitment right now in government is to double construction and focus on the affordable side.”

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre on Tuesday had blamed Robertson for high home prices in Vancouver.

“If this is the new blood that Mr. Carney is bringing into that cabinet, then sadly for Canadians, nothing is going to change and the role of the Conservative Party will be more important than ever,” Poilievre said.

Carney was asked on Tuesday why Robertson, whose term as mayor saw property prices in Vancouver skyrocket, was the right choice for housing minister.

He was asked if the appointment was an indication that the government does not want property prices to go down.

“You would be very hard-pressed to make that conclusion,” Carney said in response.

“From everything I’ve said and what our priorities are, we have a strong view on housing, a very clear policy developed with a number of members of the team, including with Mr. Robertson. And I’m thrilled that he is in the new role because he brings the type of experience that we need to tackle some aspects of this problem.”

Data from Greater Vancouver Realtors shows that the price of a benchmark home in the region more than doubled during Robertson’s time as mayor from December 2008 to November 2018.

Robertson argued Wednesday that many cities across Canada saw similar surges during that period.

Over the same period, the national benchmark home price rose by 78 per cent, data from the Canadian Real Estate Association shows.

Robertson took to X on Wednesday to defend his housing record.

“I’ve led one of Canada’s largest cities through economic shocks and a deepening housing emergency after decades of disinvestment,” he wrote in a thread marking his appointment to cabinet and thanking Carney for the opportunity.

“In the face of those challenges, we delivered record levels of affordable housing, led the country on supportive housing and co-ops, built one of the strongest urban economies, and became a global leader in sustainability,” he continued.

Robertson added that “the work ahead is urgent and immense. We have a bold, ambitious plan to tackle this challenge—building affordable homes, strengthening infrastructure, and building an economy that truly works for everyone.”

Former prime minister Justin Trudeau in September 2023 had said prices need to stop rising.

“I think one of the things that we know is that prices, house pricing, cannot continue to go up,” said Trudeau at the time. “It’s not fair to young people who feel like cities are turning their backs on them when housing is that expensive. Young people feel like cities don’t want them. They feel like they can’t succeed.“

Last year, though, Trudeau had also said housing needs to retain its value.

—With files from the Canadian Press

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