Q&A on national housing issues
RHB: What would you like the federal government to focus on to support rental housing and rental property owners / developers across Canada?
Tony Irwin: The federal government should modernize tax policy to encourage long-term reinvestment in the rental sector. One of the most impactful changes would be adopting a “like-kind exchange” model similar to Section 1031 in the U.S. Internal Revenue Code. In the U.S., developers can defer capital gains taxes if they reinvest the proceeds from a sale into a new
RHB: What one systemic barrier in limiting rental housing supply nationwide, and what could the government do to help overcome those barriers?
Tony Irwin: The most significant systemic barrier is the lack of coordination between all three levels of government. Even with federal low-cost financing, municipal red tape and provincial tax structures keep many projects stalled. To fix this, the federal government should use infrastructure funding as a lever. Transfers should be tied directly to municipal performance, requiring cities to adopt as-of-right zoning, faster
