Federal election recap: What does another Liberal minority mean for Calgary real estate?

Federal election day has come and gone. Now that the dust has settled – with the exception of a few hotly contested ridings where final votes are still being counted – we know that Justin Trudeau's Liberals will be returning to the House of Commons with another minority government.

Currently, the Liberals are elected or leading in 159 seats (+2), the Conservatives in 119 seats (-2) and the NDP in 25 (+1) seats. The Bloc Québécois sits at 33 seats (+1), while the Green Party captured two seats (-1). For the second straight election, the party that won the popular vote did not win the most seats, with the Conservatives taking 33.8 per cent of the vote share compared with 32.4 per cent for the Liberals.

Although Liberal cabinet ministers Bernadette Jordan and Maryam Monsef were defeated, and a few other ridings changed hands – including Alberta's Calgary Skyview and Edmonton Griesbach – these results leave the balance of power in the House relatively unchanged compared with prior to the election.

The impact this Liberal victory will have on real estate in Calgary and across the country, especially when it comes to the hot-button topic of housing affordability, remains to be seen. However, for some hints of what might lie in store, we can look to the Liberals' campaign promises on the real estate file.

The Liberal platform heading into the election, which is available in full here, included the following housing promises:

$4 billion to establish a new application-based Housing Accelerator Fund to promote faster housing development in municipalities

$1 billion in loans and grants to create a new rent-to-own program for renters and landlords

$600 million to support the conversion of empty office and retail spaces into market-based housing

A two-year ban on home purchases by foreign buyers who don't plan to reside there (this was also promised by the Conservatives)

A new Tax-Free First Home Savings Account where Canadians under 40 can save up to $40,000 for their first home purchase

A new tax on home "flipping" within 12 months of a purchase

New investment in affordable housing and senior facilities as part of a $20-billion commitment to social infrastructure

The elimination of all GST on new capital investments in affordable rental housing through an increase to the New Residential Rental Property Rebate

How many of these policies will be enacted in the coming months, as well as the speed of the rollout, remains to be seen, especially without a Liberal majority. However, housing affordability was a priority for all three major national parties, with some overlap between their respective platforms, leaving the door open for collaboration on housing policy if they choose to co-operate.