Murray Wood: Who's hot and who's not
Every Friday, Murray Wood takes a look at the week's news and decides who's hot and who's not. This week's list includes...
The parliamentary budget officer says Ottawa’s plan to slash the sales tax on housing would save an eligible first-time homebuyer an average of roughly $27,000 off the price of a newly built home.
The federal government’s fiscal watchdog predicts in a new analysis that a little over 71,000 new builds will quality for GST relief over the lifetime of the program.
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The proposal would see the federal portion of the sales tax eliminated on a new home worth up to $1 million if it’s bought by a qualifying first-time homebuyer.
The GST rebate would be phased down as the price of the home approaches $1.5 million.
The PBO forecasts the program will cost $1.9 billion over six years, while the federal government has pegged the price tag closer to $3.9 billion.
The GST rebate, which is not yet law, was included in the Liberals’ spring election platform as a way to help Canadians break into the housing market.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 11, 2025.
