Vancouver: Today in Vancouver, Steve Darling (Burnaby-Lougheed) and Gabe Garfinkel (Vancouver-Fairview) met with a new homeowner to highlight the benefits of the BC HOME program and discuss the clear choice for voters when it comes homeownership in this election.
“As a young person living in Vancouver, I’m proud to run with a team of candidates who want to make it easier to afford a home,” said candidate Gabe Garfinkel. “The BC NDP want to pay people a dollar a day to keep renting, regardless of income, but that won’t help anyone afford a new home.”
Today’s BC Liberals have a comprehensive plan to help young people and the middle class with homeownership, including:
• $700 million in the BC HOME Partnership providing mortgage down payment assistance loans to an estimated 42,000 first-time home buyers over the next three years.
• Raising the threshold of the First Time Home Buyers’ Program exemption to save first-time home buyers up to $8,000.
• Expanding the Home Renovation Tax Credit eligibility to those renovating their home to accommodate a secondary suite.
• 15% Foreign Buyers Tax in Metro Vancouver to cool off the housing market
“People looking to realize the dream of homeownership want to vote for a party that is going to help them get into the market,” said Steve Darling. “Only Today’s BC Liberals have a plan that will help young people and the middle class actually afford to buy a home.”
While Today’s BC Liberals will help people realize the dream of homeownership, John Horgan and the BC NDP have said they would cancel the BC HOME Partnership to fund their so-called plan to pay renters as little as a dollar a day to keep renting, regardless of their income.
On top of the important investments to help people realize the dream of homeownership, Today’s BC Liberals will also continue to invest in affordable housing and targeted supports for those who need it. This includes the largest ever one year investment of $920 million to create close to 5,300 new units of affordable rental housing, as well as the RAP and SAFER programs that assist over 33,000 low-income families and senior households with their rent each year.
