Average housing price must fall to fix ‘crisis,’ federal minister says

Gregor Robertson acknowledged that Canada faces a 'housing crisis' but argued the federal Liberals are taking action to lower the cost of a home and boost the housing supply.

Federal Housing Minister Gregor Robertson says the average price of housing — not necessarily individual home values — must fall to restore affordability in Canada.

Robertson was before the House of Commons finance committee on Monday answering MPs’ questions about the Liberal government’s affordability legislation.

He acknowledged in his opening remarks that Canada faces a “housing crisis” but argued the federal Liberals are taking action to lower the cost of a home and boost the housing supply.

Conservative MP Aaron Gunn asked the minister if he still believes home prices don’t need to fall in Canada, citing comments Robertson made after he was sworn into cabinet in May.

Robertson focused on average home prices in his response.

“To be clear, we need to see average prices of housing for Canadians come down. We have to build a lot more non-market housing to bring down that average cost,” he said Monday.

When he was asked in May whether he felt home prices needed to come down, Robertson said “no.”

“I think that we need to deliver more supply, make sure the market is stable. It’s a huge part of our economy, but we need to be delivering more affordable housing,” he said at the time.