On Sept. 12, the first full day of the election campaign, Evan Siddall, president and chief executive of Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp., downed his sword.
CMHC head Evan Siddall “I don’t know why this debate is still happening,” he told me in an interview at CMHC headquarters in Ottawa this week. “And I don’t know why people are vulnerable to it because it’s just obvious that if you push prices higher, you’re going to make the problem worse.” Under Siddall, CMHC has taken a step back, as per his mantra of using the agency’s resources to support “needs,” not “wants.” According to the 2018 annual report, it had insured about 29 per cent of outstanding residential mortgages, compared with about 43 per cent in 2014. Siddall’s priority these days is financing rental units, not juicing home-ownership rates.
The Conservatives and the New Democratic Party both promised to increase the maximum amortization period for first-time homebuyers to 30 years from 25, which would lower monthly payments, but saddle borrowers with more debt.
CarmichaelKevin He called out mass immigration? Gutsy