The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) — a federal Crown corporation — has investigated the possibility of a home equity tax on more than one occasion, using taxpayer dollars to fund that research. This was not backroom speculation. It was real, documented work.
The Liberals paid a group called Generation Squeeze, led by activist Paul Kershaw, to study how the government could tap into Canadians’ home equity — including their primary residences.
It didn’t stop there. These proposals were presented directly to federal cabinet ministers. That’s on record, and most of those same ministers are now part of Mark Carney’s team as he positions himself as the Liberals’ next leader.
Let’s be clear: This is not about partisanship. It’s about math, and reality.
The federal government is $1.2 trillion in debt. Interest payments on that debt are expected to hit $54 billion this year — which is more than the federal government spends on health care transfers to provinces. That’s right: We now spend more on interest than we do on health care.
In Ontario, nearly 40% of the provincial budget already goes to health care. In Alberta, it’s over $27 billion. And with federal health transfers strained and interest rates rising, provinces are being left to shoulder even more.
This isn’t sustainable. When a government runs out of money, if it doesn’t cut spending, which Mark Carney has no plans to do, it looks for new ways to take more from you. Enter: your homes equity.