UPDATE: Housing Minister Gregor Robertson’s office has shared a “correction” to the minister’s comments. Read the latest here. A week after both the federal and Ontario governments announced plans to reduce the HST on new home purchases in Ontario for a year, the federal housing minister stated that discussions are underway to broaden this initiative. “We are in discussions with all of the provinces and territories about taking down the GST for one year on new home purchases,” Housing Minister Gregor Robertson mentioned in an interview with . The minister did not provide any specific timeline regarding when agreements with other provinces might be revealed but stressed that provincial governments will need to contribute financially or propose new legislation. “That does take some negotiating. The provinces have to do the follow-through, working with local governments,” Robertson noted. Story continues below “There’s some details to work through here.” 0:41 Ford says his government will waive HST on newly built homes for 1 year Last week, the federal and Ontario governments decided to eliminate the 13 percent sales tax on new homes in the province, valued up to $1 million for one year.
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Get breaking Canada news delivered to your inbox as it happens so you won’t miss a trending story. The maximum rebate of $130,000 applies to homes priced up to $1.5 million and decreases proportionally for more expensive properties. The two governments also agreed to share $8.8 billion over 10 years, aimed at funding infrastructure projects in Ontario cities that lower development charges, which are municipal taxes used for services like sewers and roads needed by new subdivisions. The federal Conservatives have called for completely eliminating HST on all new housing regardless of price; however, Robertson mentioned he didn’t believe that the GST cut would be permanent. Story continues below “I think that the point right now is to really infuse some momentum in the market, especially in Ontario and B. C., where they’ve been struggling,” Robertson explained. 6:27 Housing minister on trying to end Ontario’s homebuilding slump More on Canada More videos Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim urged British Columbia Premier David Eby on Thursday to secure a similar housing agreement with the federal government. “We know the only way to improve long-term affordability is to keep building more homes,” Sim stated. “This is a window of opportunity for the province to partner with the federal government and municipalities to lower costs and deliver the homes people need.” The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation predicts Canadian homebuilders will continue facing challenges from rising costs, reduced demand, and an increase in unsold units-particularly within the condominium market-with new construction expected to decline through 2028. Story continues below When asked if removing HST from Ontario home purchases was aimed at helping developers specifically, Robertson said he wants to mitigate some negative effects stemming from a sluggish housing market. “There are going to be very few housing starts in the next couple of years because pre-sales have been so low. We’re certainly seeing layoffs in the building sector in (Toronto and Vancouver),” Robertson remarked. “The construction jobs unfortunately will be impacted in the next year or two, so you know we’re going to see a ripple effect here. That’s what we’re trying to prevent.” © 2026 , a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.Source link
