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Sovereignty and international relations have rightfully dominated the news cycle since the federal election was called earlier this year, but around the dinner table housing remains a major concern for Canadians. The importance of restoring housing affordability is reflected in the platforms of the major parties, all of which have several pages dedicated to the subject. There is a rough consensus among the political class that the housing crisis is fundamentally one of supply and demand. The parties are scrambling to outdo each other in their commitments to expand the nation’s stockpile of homes. The Tories promise 2.3 million of them. The NDP is pledging to build three million. The Liberals want to double the rate at which homes are built—setting an annual target of 500,000 homes. Each has their own way of pursuing these ends.

The Conservative Party of Canada, for example, would sell off public lands, lower taxes, reduce regulatory burdens, and work with municipalities to speed up zoning reform efforts. The Conservative plan predicts that a more liberalized regulatory and tax environment will prompt the private sector to build our way out of the crisis. The CPC wants to give free reign to developers to construct the most profitable properties wherever they see fit. The plan is not concerned with addressing the problem of financialization and would almost certainly result in a larger share of the nation’s housing supply aggregating in fewer hands. This approach would accelerate the decades-long process of housing commodification and would likely see housing prices rise as oligopolies capture ever larger shares of the market.

Similarly, the Liberal Party wants to cut taxes, reduce........

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