The Saskatchewan REALTORS® Association (SRA) will ensure that a healthy housing continuum remains a focus and priority here at home and in Ottawa. 

After calling a federal election, the Liberal Party came up short trying to secure a majority mandate. Here at home, the Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) retained dominance of their federal ridings and gained a few seats across the country and CPC Party Leader Erin O’Toole will face questions about his leadership and future with the party. The same can be said for the leader of the Liberals, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who is set to govern a 44th parliament that looks very similar to the 43rd. 

There were some key issues that dominated the election cycle including climate change, housing, and a national daycare strategy. The SRA responded specifically to the Liberal Party’s housing plan which included criminalizing blind bidding on homes in Canada.   

This plan is difficult to digest for hard working Canadians who choose how to sell their homes, by regulating real estate professionals and practices through the criminal code.  

“This approach is heavy handed and pitting homeowners against buyers at a time when supply and the removal of barriers in getting housing to market at the local level should be considered priority,” said SRA CEO Chris Guérette. 

The SRA does not believe nationally criminalizing the way homeowners sell their homes is an effective solution to address a lack of housing in some local markets. For many, a home is a family’s greatest asset – it’s where they raise their families, how they save for retirement, and consumers should be in the driver’s seat when the time comes to sell.  

“In the coming weeks and months, the SRA will be meeting with local Saskatchewan MPs to advocate our position on this particularly important issue through correspondence and during upcoming Virtual PAC Days being organized by CREA next month in October,” said Guérette. 

We want to impress on Ottawa that a national policy cannot effectively address local housing realities. A national policy implemented for Vancouver and Toronto is not one that is likely to work for Saskatchewan. And at the end of the day, you cannot fix Canada’s housing crisis by denying millions of hardworking families the choice of how to sell their home.   

Homeownership remains out of reach for far too many because there is not enough housing supply to meet demand, and this is a local challenge that requires local solutions.