QUEEN’S PARK, ON. – Today, MPP Dr. Adil Shamji, Ontario Liberal Critic for Housing, issued the following statement regarding Doug Ford’s belated housing HST cut:
Six months ago, Ontario Liberals proposed removing the HST on new homes for all buyers. Doug Ford rejected it.
Removing the HST on new homes is the bare minimum to get affordable homes to market. Doing it for just one year falls below that minimum. It is too little, too late, and not a cause for celebration.
The hard truth is this: Doug Ford did not need to wait for the federal government to act. He could have removed Ontario’s portion of the HST six months ago. He chose not to, and in doing so, he wasted precious time.
The Premier promised to build 1.5 million homes by 2031. He will break that promise.
In 2025, Ontario was supposed to build 150,000 homes. We built just 62,000, or 40 per cent. Now we are expected to build 175,000 homes every year for the next five years. Last time I checked, Doug Ford was not a magician — because that would truly be pulling a rabbit out of the hat.
So, when Doug Ford says this policy will add only 8,000 housing starts next year, that should be cause for concern. Even if Ontario matches last year’s pace and adds 8,000 homes, we will still fall 105,000 homes short of Ford’s annual target.
Ontario is already in a housing crisis. We are now on a one-way track to a housing emergency.
If the Premier is serious about lowering the cost of housing, he should stop celebrating and move immediately to the next steps Ontario Liberals have proposed.
Ontario Liberals have called for scrapping development charges, eliminating the land transfer tax for first-time homebuyers, seniors, and non-profit builders, and introducing fair, phased-in rent control.
If Doug Ford had listened to Ontario Liberals and cut the HST on new homes six months ago, Ontario would already be further ahead. He should not make the same mistake twice.
Do more. Act now.