Liberal Housing Minister Gregor Robertson told reporters that Canadian home prices do not need to fall–despite having one of the most expensive housing markets in the world.
In a scrum with journalists on Parliament Hill, Robertson was asked if he thinks housing prices need to come down, to which he said prices should not be reduced.
“No, I think that we need to deliver more supply, make sure that the market is stable, it’s a big part of our economy,” said Robertson.
“We need to be delivering more affordable housing. The Government of Canada has not been building affordable housing since the 90s, and we’ve created a huge shortage across Canada.”
Robertson’s comments come just days after he was appointed as Carney’s housing minister, a selection that received widespread scrutiny.
As mayor of Vancouver from 2008 to 2018, Robertson presided over a dramatic surge in housing prices, turning Vancouver into one of the most unaffordable housing markets in the world.
In December 2008, the average price of a home in Vancouver was $484,211, but by November 2018, the average home price reached $1,042,100—a 115 per cent increase. The average home price has since increased to $1,211,073, as of April 2025.
During this time, Vancouver’s homeless population increased from 1,576 in 2008 to 2,181 in 2018 despite promising to end homelessness upon his ascent to the mayoralty.
Robertson’s comments were the subject of significant scrutiny across the country, particularly in light of Canada’s broader housing crisis.
Since the Liberals first formed government in November 2015, the average home price was $448,000, which has since risen to $718,400 in March 2025. In that span of time, many of Canada’s largest housing markets have seen extraordinary price growth, including Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, and Vancouver.
Toronto housing developer Chris Spoke told True North that Robertson appears more concerned with preserving existing property values than improving affordability.
“He’s of course trying to reassure homeowners that their equity values are secure,” said Spoke.
“The more concerning part of his comments was the focus on ‘affordable housing’, by which he meant below-market-rate housing or subsidized housing. We know that he wasn’t referring to market rate affordability because he said ‘we haven’t built affordable housing since the 90s.’ Very few Canadians aspire to live in government-owned subsidized housing.”
Economist Mike Moffatt responded to Robertson’s statement by asserting that if housing prices remained at current levels, it would take 20 to 40 years for homes to become affordable.
In an interview with CBC earlier this week, Robertson defended his record of hiking development charges as Vancouver’s mayor.
“When market housing is selling at those rates, we may as well take some of that back into the public purse and the developers are making money, they’ve made their profits,” said Robertson.
Carney’s decision to appoint Robertson as the housing minister was panned, as the prime minister shuffled out four-term MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith from the role.
The Beaches—East York MP said he felt “disrespected” by Carney booting him out of the cabinet, though he wished the new housing minister well.