Carney Floats B.C. Housing Fee Cuts: What Developers—and Buyers—Should Watch Next

Prime Minister Mark Carney used his May 21 address to the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade to signal that Ottawa wants B.C. to join Ontario in temporarily slashing municipal development charges on new housing. Carney confirmed the federal government is in "early stages of discussion" with the provincial government around a partnership that would mirror Ontario's recent agreement, where both federal and provincial governments each committed $4.4 billion to backfill municipal infrastructure funding while cutting development fees by up to 50% for three years. The Prime Minister cited Ontario's model as reducing project costs by approximately $200,000 per unit, calling it "material improvement in affordability" and "structural change" rather than temporary relief.