Premier Mark Carney said Thursday that developers did not “directly” ask him to implement a federal-provincial government plan to buy empty condominiums and convert them into affordable housing in British Columbia, adding that the initiative was not done with the industry in mind.
The proposed program has drawn criticism from opposition parties and housing experts, some of whom say it amounts to a “bailout” for condo developers struggling to sell units, particularly in Vancouver and the Lower Mainland.
“No developer has asked for this directly from me,” Carney told reporters at a news conference in Ottawa when asked whether the development community had lobbied for government support.
“We started, as we always do, with Canadians. We didn’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 British Columbians.”
But Carney acknowledged that he and the federal and British Columbia governments have not done “a good job of rolling out this program and explaining what this program is all about,” after saying last week that details about how the program would work would not be released until later in the fall.
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He said the goal of the plan, which he said came from the provincial government, was to convert “distressed” condominiums into “rent-to-own” properties that would allow renters to save for a down payment on a future purchase.
Carney added that governments around the world would seek to provide around 10 percent of the “total planned dollar value” of around $1.4 billion. But he added the transaction would only be done “at a discount at the appropriate time,” with the specific structure to be determined.
“There are no specific transactions, no specific transactions planned at this stage, but there are opportunities,” he said.
“I think the problem is, if and when there is a transaction, then judge the transaction based on its economics, not based on its concept.”
Last week, Carney said the government would “leverage innovative financing tools from Build Canada Homes to convert thousands of vacant condominiums into affordable homes.”
There are about 2,200 vacant condominium units in areas considered a growth priority in B.C., and Carney said converting those units would be the quickest and most efficient way to increase housing supply.
BC Housing Minister Christine Boyle says they hope to convert all of these units into affordable housing.
“We crunched all the numbers on how to design a program that works for the people we’re talking about, hard-working British Columbians who make good wages, but still feel trapped by homeownership,” he said.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre on Sunday denounced the plan as a “transfer of wealth from the poor to the yacht-owning.”
“Condos are going from expensive to cheaper. Who is going to pay the difference? Mark Carney wants you, as taxpayers, who are struggling with mortgage bills and gas prices, to pay for the losses, not the developers,” he said.
—With files from Global’s Amy Judd
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