CREDA’S four Canadian chapters (Greater Toronto, Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver) submitted a letter to Gregor Robertson, Canada’s Minister of Housing and Infrastructure, containing several recommendations as the federal government prepares to release the 2027 budget later this fall. The recommendations are intended to spur needed investments in housing and commercial development through tax and financing reforms that include:

• Eliminating the tax-on-tax treatment of development charges,
• Making office-to-residential conversions viable,
• Pausing implementation of new energy efficiency targets, and
• Unlocking private capital for rental housing through tax deferment. (similar to 1031exchanges in the U.S.)

In addition to these recommendations, the four chapters encouraged the federal government to support the conversion of excess and unsold condominiums to rental housing through financing tools like the Building Ontario Fund.