THE NDP on Tuesday pointed out that the BC Budget shows that housing starts hit an all-time high of47,607 in 2021 and added that under them, there have been 73,648 more housing starts than the BC Liberals had projected for the last five years.
| 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | Total | |
| BC NDP (actuals, 2021-22 budget) | 43,664 | 40,857 | 44,932 | 35,021 | 47,607 | 212,081 |
| BC Liberals (projected, 2017-18 budget) | 29,977 | 27,512 | 26,969 | 26,985 | 26,990 | 138,433 |
| Difference | 13,667 | 13,345 | 17,963 | 8,036 | 20,617 | 73,648 |
The NDP said that housing starts have outpaced the BC Liberal plan by 53%.
It noted that another report by BC Housing shows that of the new homes registered in 2021, 12,899 were purpose-built rentals – a nearly 50% increase over 2020. In the five years of BC NDP government, more new purpose-built rental homes have been registered than in the 15 years of BC Liberal government that came before.
The NDP said its speculation and vacancy tax is also working to put more homes on the market. A 2021 CMHC report found that the speculation tax has added 18,000 units to the rental market in Metro Vancouver and recent census data shows an “astonishing” drop in the number of homes sitting empty.
The NDP said that despite this progress, BC Liberal Leader Kevin Falcon is opposed to the speculation tax.
