Critics call out a lack of measures in the federal budget to push down the high cost of housing

When Monica Moore went home shopping in 2020, she knew she wouldn't be able to afford a house in Vancouver.

The product designer, now 28, considers herself lucky. With some financial help from her parents, she was able to purchase a two-bedroom condo in North Vancouver, where she now lives with her husband.

But even though she recently commanded a salary well over $200,000 a year — putting her near the top one per cent of earners in Canada — she said she feels she still can't afford a house in the Greater Vancouver Area. Canadian Real Estate Association data indicates the average price for a detached home in the GVA approaches $2 million.

"Being near the top income earners in Canada, the fact that I wouldn't be able to afford a house ... then who's supposed to be affording these homes? It just doesn't add up," Moore said.

Moore said she worries the lack of affordable housing may limit the size of her family in the future. She said many of her friends plan not to have children for the same reason.

It's an issue that's affected her view of the Trudeau government. She said she'd like to see Ottawa put pressure on municipalities to boost the housing supply.

"I'm sick of them just catering to Boomers who bought a house in way back and are now sitting on two, three, five million dollars of property, and they don't want to see that go down," she said.

"I think some sacrifices need to be made there."

Moore isn't the only one. Many industry players, experts and advocates have expressed disappointment in the lack of measures in the recent federal budget to address the high cost of housing.

The budget acknowledges that a lack of affordable housing in Canada is having a negative effect on the Canadian economy.

"For too many Canadians, including young people and new Canadians, the dream of owning a home is increasingly out of reach, and paying rent has become more expensive across the country," the budget document says.

"This is undermining the financial stability of an entire generation of Canadians."

But the budget mostly highlights previously announced measures on housing and housing affordability.

The most notable among them is the new tax-free First Home Savings Account (FHSA), which the budget said would launch on April 1, 2023. The account works like a Tax Free Savings Account (TFSA) and allows first-time home buyers — or those who have not purchased a home in the previous four years — to make tax-deductible contributions and tax-free withdrawals to purchase a home.