FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
28 October 2025
QUEEN’S PARK – Today, Dr. Adil Shamji, MPP for Don Valley East and Ontario Liberal Critic for Housing, issued the following statement regarding the Ford government’s limited proposal to remove the provincial HST only for first-time homebuyers:
Under Doug Ford’s failed leadership, housing has cratered in Ontario. Homelessness is rampant, encampments have spread, and housing starts are plummeting. Ontario is the only province in Canada building fewer homes this year than last — dragging down the national average while every other province grows under the same conditions.
Starts are down roughly 18 per cent year-to-date — the worst in the country. Only 12,700 homes were built in the first quarter of 2025, the lowest in 15 years, and most major municipalities missed their housing targets. These are the numbers of a province in crisis.
Against that backdrop, Ontarians needed bold action. Instead, we got a half measure that excludes too many and helps too few. Limiting HST relief to first-time buyers will not unlock housing for seniors who want to downsize or young families trying to move up. Furthermore, capping the program at $1 million barely unlocks housing in Toronto, the most expensive and populated housing market in our province. As a result, this announcement excludes the vast majority of Ontarians.
Doug Ford has mastered the art of platitudes and token measures. Today’s housing announcement is a feeble response to our province’s uniquely extraordinary crisis, which demands an extraordinary solution.
Ontario Liberals have proposed removing the provincial portion of HST on all new primary residences up to $1 million, and on a sliding scale up to $1.5 million — effectively ending HST on new homes in Ontario. That higher threshold would make housing more attainable for middle-class families in the GTA. Additionally, extending the rebate to all homebuyers purchasing primary residences would immediately trigger 40,000–45,000 housing starts next year, without waiting for federal action.
The policy would boost demand for Ontario steel and softwood lumber, create tens of thousands of construction jobs, increase housing supply, and cut the cost of a new home by up to $80,000. It would help seniors downsize, free up family-sized homes, and help more Ontarians climb the housing ladder.
Doing nothing costs more: lost jobs, fewer homes, and a shrinking middle class. Removing the provincial HST on all new homes is an urgent economic necessity.