Prime Minister Mark Carney said Thursday that developers did not “directly” ask him to pursue a federal-provincial government plan to buy empty condominiums and turn them into affordable housing in British Columbia, adding the initiative was not pursued with the industry in mind.
The proposed program has faced criticism from opposition parties and housing experts, some of whom have said it amounts to a “bailout” for condo developers struggling to sell units, particularly in Vancouver and the Lower Mainland.
“No developer asked for this from me directly,” Carney told reporters during a press conference in Ottawa when asked if the development community had lobbied for government support.
“We start, as we always do, with Canadians. We don’t start with developers. Yes, it’s great that there are developers and they build condos. What we care about is affordable housing, enough affordable housing, in this case, for the people of British Columbia.”
Carney acknowledged, however, that he and the federal and B.C. governments have not done “a particularly good job of rolling this out and explaining exactly what it is,” after saying last week that details on exactly how the program will work would not be released until the fall.
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He said the goal of the plan, which he said came from the provincial government, is to turn “distressed” condos into “rent-to-own” properties that allow renters to save up for a future down payment for purchase.
Carney added governments will aim to provide about 10 per cent of the “overall dollar value contemplated” at about $1.4 billion. Yet he added transactions will only be pursued “at a discount at the right time,” with specific structures to be determined.
“There’s no specific transactions, no specific contemplated transaction at this stage, but there is an opportunity,” he said.
“I think the issue will be, if and when there are transactions, then judge those transactions on the basis of the economics of that, not on the concept.”
Last week, Carney said the government will “leverage innovative financing tools from Build Canada Homes to convert thousands of vacant condos into affordable homes.”
There are about 2,200 vacant condo units in areas considered a priority for growth in B.C., and Carney said converting those would be the fastest and most efficient way to increase housing supply.
B.C.’s Housing Minister Christine Boyle said they are hoping to convert all these units into affordable housing.
“We’re running all of the numbers on what a program design looks like that works for the folks we’re talking about, hard-working British Columbians making good income, still feeling locked out of home ownership,” she said.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre on Sunday blasted the plan as “a transfer of wealth from the have-nots to the have-yachts.”
“The condo goes from expensive to less expensive. Who’s going to pay the difference? Well, Mark Carney wants you, the taxpayer, struggling with mortgage bills and gas prices, to pay those losses instead of the developers,” he said.
—With files from Global’s Amy Judd
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