Overall confidence to deliver affordable housing is higher for a Liberal federal government than a Conservative one.
Vancouver, BC [April 24, 2025] – Just over three-in-four Canadians think the federal government made the right call in banning foreigners from purchasing residential properties in Canada, a new Research Co. poll has found.
In the online survey of a representative national sample, 76% of Canadians support the federal government’s decision, while 13% oppose it and 11% are undecided.
The ban, which will be in effect until January 1, 2027, contemplates exclusions for international students and temporary residents.
“Majorities of Canadians who in 2021 voted for the Conservatives (82%), the Liberals (78%) or the New Democrats (also 78%) are in favour of the ban on foreign real estate purchases,” says Mario Canseco, President of Research Co. “The regulation is also supported by most respondents whose descent is South Asian (87%), Indigenous (84%), European (77%) and East Asian (74%).”
Just under three-in-five Canadians (59%) think the federal government should tie immigration numbers to affordable housing targets and new housing starts—a proportion that rises to 63% in British Columbia and to 66% among Liberal Party voters in the 2021 federal election.
Canadians are divided when asked which level of government is more responsible for making housing affordable in their community. Similar proportions select the federal government (42%) or their provincial government (41%), followed by their municipal government (17%).
Canadians aged 55 and over are more likely to say provincial governments should take the lead on affordable housing (50%) and not the federal government (31%). The results are different among Canadians aged 18-to-34 and aged 35-to-54, who say the federal government is mostly responsible on this file (49% and 48% respectively) and not provincial administrations (42% and 36% respectively).
More than three-in-five Canadians (64%) agree with removing the Goods and Services Tax (GST) on home sales up to $1.3 million. Support is also high for two other ideas: creating a federal developer that could build low-cost homes on government land (70%) and developing a catalogue of pre-approved home designs to accelerate homebuilding by developers (also 70%).
Only 33% of Canadians “completely” or “moderately” trust for-profit developers to deliver affordable housing in Canada. The rating is higher for provincial governments (50%), municipal governments (52%) and not-for-profit developers (58%).
Just over half of Canadians (51%) trust the federal government under the Liberals to deliver affordable housing across the country, while 42% feel the same way about a federal government headed by the Conservatives.
Among Canadians aged 18-to-34, the level of trust on housing is slightly higher for a Conservative government (51%) than a Liberal one (49%). Canadians aged 55 and over express more confidence in the Liberals (52% and 50% respectively) than the Conservatives (44% and 34% respectively).
Methodology: Results are based on an online survey conducted from April 7 to April 9, 2025, among 1,002 adults in Canada. The data has been statistically weighted according to census figures for age, gender and region in Canada. The margin of error—which measures sample variability—is +/- 3.1 percentage points, nineteen times out of twenty.
Find our data tables here and download the press release here.
For more information on this poll, please contact:
Mario Canseco, President, Research Co.
778.929.0490
[e] mario.canseco@researchco.ca