National

U.S. tariffs set to slow pace of homebuilding in Canada: CHBA

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 04 Mar, 2025 10:55 AM

Canada's building industry says a trade war with the United States will slow down the pace of home construction.

Canadian Home Builders' Association CEO Kevin Lee says the U.S. tariffs levied against Canada today will have a "muted" impact on the industry on their own.

But he says an expected slowdown in the economy tied to tariff impacts could hold the housing market back, dragging down housing starts.

Today, CHBA CEO Kevin Lee spoke to reporters on Parliament Hill about the release of CHBA's #MunicipalBenchmarkingStudy, underscoring that policy change is needed to ramp up housing supply & address #housingaffordability challenges.

Watch 🎥 https://t.co/968y1iFKuq #cdnpoli
— CHBA National (@CHBANational) March 4, 2025

Canada has responded to U.S. President Donald Trump's trade salvos with retaliatory tariffs targeting $30 billion worth of U.S. goods, with billions more in counter-tariffs set to follow in three weeks.

Lee says that if these retaliatory tariffs hit critical construction materials coming from the U.S., they could drive up costs for builders.

He says municipalities can help offset the slowdown by speeding up approval processes and lowering development charges to get new homes built.

Prev Next

MORE National ARTICLES

Amid U.S. tariff threats, a fight may be brewing over Canadian supply management

The federal government and the Canadian dairy industry are vowing to protect the country’s supply management system in the face of threats from the United States. But some observers, and even some who work in the industry, say Canada will have to consider changes to the decades-old system that controls the supply of dairy products to appease a combative Trump administration.

Amid U.S. tariff threats, a fight may be brewing over Canadian supply management

Police say YouTuber caught speeding on Vancouver Island loses car for a week

Mounties on Vancouver Island say a man who described himself as a YouTube influencer had his vehicle impounded and was fined $368 for speeding. Police say an unmarked BC Highway Patrol officer was working Sunday in Lantzville when he heard an "excessively loud" vehicle accelerate from a stoplight on Highway 19.

Police say YouTuber caught speeding on Vancouver Island loses car for a week

California builders say few alternatives to Canadian timber, despite tariff threat

California homebuilders say they have few options but to keep buying Canadian lumber, even if it's hit with 25 per cent tariffs, as they rebuild thousands of homes destroyed by devastating wildfires in Los Angeles.

California builders say few alternatives to Canadian timber, despite tariff threat

B.C. investigates 'significant' opioid diversion, including international trafficking

A recent B.C. Ministry of Health document says a "significant portion" of opioids prescribed by doctors and pharmacists are being diverted and that prescribed alternatives are being trafficked provincially, nationally and internationally.

B.C. investigates 'significant' opioid diversion, including international trafficking

2 arrested in catalytic converter theft

Mounties in Burnaby say two women have been arrested after stealing a catalytic converter from a van in a parking lot in the area of Brighton Avenue and Lougheed Highway. They say that on January 22nd, officers responded to reports of the women underneath the vehicle, but the pair left the scene before they arrived.

2 arrested in catalytic converter theft

Talk of changing Vancouver's supportive housing policy has organizations on edge

Mayor Ken Sim announced last month that he would be putting forward a proposal to pause construction of net new supportive housing units in Vancouver, arguing that the city needs to focus on updating its current stock, while supply in other parts of the region increases.