Message From Tony
To help more Canadians, particularly younger generations, buy a first home, new mortgage rules came into effect on August 1, 2024, allowing 30-year insured mortgage amortizations for first-time homebuyers purchasing new builds.
Yesterday, our government announced a suite of reforms to mortgage rules to make mortgages more affordable for Canadians and put homeownership within reach:
- Increasing the $1 million price cap for insured mortgages to $1.5 million, effective December 15, 2024, to reflect current housing market realities and help more Canadians qualify for a mortgage with a down payment below 20 per cent. Increasing the insured-mortgage cap—which has not been adjusted since 2012—to $1.5 million will help more Canadians buy a home.
- Expanding eligibility for 30-year mortgage amortizations to all first-time homebuyers and to all buyers of new builds, effective December 15, 2024, to reduce the cost of monthly mortgage payments and help more Canadians buy a home. By helping Canadians buy new builds, including condos, the government is announcing yet another measure to incentivize more new housing construction and tackle the housing shortage. This builds on the Budget 2024 commitment, which came into effect on August 1, 2024, permitting 30-year mortgage amortizations for first-time homebuyers purchasing new builds, including condos.
These new measures build on the strengthened Canadian Mortgage Charter¸ announced in Budget 2024, which allows all insured mortgage holders to switch lenders at renewal without being subject to another mortgage stress test. Not having to requalify when renewing with a different lender increases mortgage competition and enables more Canadians, with insured mortgages, to switch to the best, cheapest deal.
These measures are the most significant mortgage reforms in decades and part of the federal government’s plan to build nearly 4 million new homes—the most ambitious housing plan in Canadian history—to help more Canadians become homeowners. The government will bring forward regulatory amendments to implement these proposals, with further details to be announced in the coming weeks.
As the federal government works to make mortgages more affordable so more Canadians can become homeowners, it is also taking bold action to protect the rights of home buyers and renters. Along with the announced mortgage rule we also released the blueprints for a Renters’ Bill of Rights and a Home Buyers’ Bill of Rights.
These new blueprints will protect renters from unfair practices, make leases simpler, and increase price transparency; and help make the process of buying a home, fairer, more open, and more transparent. The government is working with provinces and territories to implement these blueprints by leveraging the $5 billion in funding available to provinces and territories through the new Canada Housing Infrastructure Fund. As part of these negotiations, the federal government is calling on provinces and territories to implement measures such as protecting Canadians from renovictions and blind bidding, standardizing lease agreements, making sales price history available on title searches, and much more—to make the housing market fairer across the country.
Honouring local Veterans in Aurora
This past Saturday, I joined the Aurora Legion for their Candlelight Vigil and Drumhead Service at the Aurora Cemetery. During the vigil, we gathered to help place candles on Veterans’ graves and honoured the sacrifice, courage, and selflessness that they displayed during their life of service. The moving ceremony reminded us of the importance of showing our respect, gratitude, and support for Veterans, current Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) Members, and their families.
The Aurora Legion is an exemplary organization that serves Veterans in Aurora, including serving military and RCMP members and their families. I encourage everyone to learn more about the events they host and the resources they offer.
Our government is committed to supporting Veterans and CAF members and we will continue to do so. To all Veterans, CAF members, and their families: thank you for your sacrifices.
Celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival
Today. Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, and other Asian communities in Newmarket-Aurora and throughout Canada will gather to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival. During this festival, families and friends come together to celebrate bountiful harvests, share treats, exchange greetings and gifts, and in some cultures, light lanterns.
The Mid-Autumn Festival serves a reminder of the significance of family, gratitude, and the promise that tomorrow holds. This celebration also gives us an opportunity to learn more about the stories, experiences, and contributions of Asian Canadians to the diversity that makes Canada strong.
I wish everybody who is celebrating a wonderful Mid-Autumn Festival.
Upcoming Parliamentary session
Yesterday, the fall Parliamentary session officially began, meaning that we can get back to work and continue fighting to make life more affordable, build more homes, faster, and support the middle-class across the nation. During the last session, we saw several bills pass through the House, including the Pharmacare Act, the Canada Early Learning and Child Care Act, the Canadian Sustainable Jobs Act, and more.
This session, I encourage you to keep an eye on bills such as:
- Bill C-61, the First Nations Clean Water Act, which is currently under consideration in the Standing Committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs (INAN).
- This bill would recognize and affirm the inherent right of First Nations to self-government in relation to water, source water, drinking water, wastewater and related infrastructure on, in and under First Nation lands.
- Bill C-71, An Act to amend the Citizenship Act, which is currently at the first reading stage in the House.
- This bill would make the citizenship process as fair and transparent as possible by automatically remedying the status of any person already born who would have been a citizen were it not for the first-generation limit and would establish a new framework for citizenship by descent.
- Bill C-72, the Connected Care for Canadians Act, which is currently at the second reading stage in the House.
- This bill will require all health IT companies to adopt common standards and allow for secure information exchange across various systems, allowing Canadians to easily access their own health information.
- Bill C-73, the Nature Accountability Act, which is currently at the second reading stage in the House.
- This world-leading federal nature accountability bill will ensure we hold ourselves accountable and deliver positive outcomes when fighting climate change, protecting biodiversity, and preserving our environment.
Our government will continue advocating for Canadians from coast to coast to coast. I’m looking forward to what we can accomplish in the coming months.
