Carney Floats $200K Housing Fee Cuts for B.C.: What Pre-Sale Buyers and Developers Need to Know Before the Deal Lands

Prime Minister Mark Carney used his May 21 address to the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade to signal that Ottawa is negotiating with British Columbia to cut development fees on new housing by up to 50% for three years, mirroring a recent Ontario agreement. Speaking to business executives and elected officials, Carney confirmed "early stages of discussion with the B.C. government around something similar" to the Ontario deal, which eliminates GST/HST on new homes and halves municipal development charges. The Prime Minister suggested these measures could reduce project costs by approximately $200,000 per unit, calling it "material improvement in affordability" and a potential "structural change" to housing supply constraints.

The Ontario precedent, announced in early April, involves both federal and provincial governments committing $4.4 billion each to backfill municipal infrastructure revenue lost from reduced developer fees. Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim had immediately called for a matching B.C. agreement, citing paused or cancelled projects due to rising construction and borrowing costs. Carney's confirmation that B.C. is now in similar talks comes as municipalities including Vancouver and Surrey have already introduced temporary fee reductions to keep projects viable. However, the Prime Minister coupled the housing announcement with a blunt warning: "If things get stalled here [in B.C.], we're going to be spending more time elsewhere in the country."