Exposing the Crisis: New Tool Tracks MP Investment In Real Estate
The Maple recently released a comprehensive database of landlord Members of Parliament (MPs) in the country. The initiative aims to shed light on the potential conflicts of interest that arise from MPs being involved in real estate or currently a landlord while making policies that affect tenants, especially as Canadians go through a cost of living crisis.
MPs are required to submit public disclosure reports, which include details of their properties, income sources, and investments. By analyzing these reports, The Maple has identified MPs and their spouses, common-law partners, and dependents who fall into one or more categories related to real estate involvement.
These categories include disclosing residential rental properties with or without income, non-residential properties such as vacant lots or farmland, and other forms of real estate participation like being a real estate agent or investing in real estate investment trusts.
The published chart provides the names of these MPs, their respective ridings, provinces, and political affiliations. Each MP is classified based on the category that best describes their real estate involvement. MPs are listed according to the earliest applicable category in cases where they fit into multiple categories.
To complement the chart, The Maple has included a map displaying all 338 ridings in Canada. The ridings that have elected MPs from the chart are highlighted based on their party affiliation.
Readers can access a searchable list that includes each qualified MP and relevant sections of their disclosure forms. However, it is important to note that the data provided is accurate as of June 13, 2023, and MPs’ circumstances may have changed since then.
This release marks the third iteration of The Maple’s research on landlord MPs. The first version was published before the most recent federal election in March 2021, while the second version, available via the Wayback Machine, was released in September 2022.
Conflict of interest in terms of government officials owning real estate properties has been one of themes of the current housing affordability crisis.
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A growing number of Canadians are arguing that government officials’ personal investments in the housing market make them more likely to make decisions that benefit wealthy homeowners and investors, rather than ordinary Canadians who are struggling to afford a home.
Last month, Lubna Banglawala, a Grade 8 student called out Housing Minister Ahmed Hussen for owning real estate property in Toronto.
Banglawala launched a petition that called on the government to ban the housing minister and any other government official from making personal investments in the housing market while in office, saying that this would help ensure that the government officials are able to act in the best interests of all Canadians, rather than just those who are wealthy enough to own investment properties.
The petition has received over 9,600 signatures as of this writing.
Information for this story was found via The Maple, and the sources and companies mentioned. The author has no securities or affiliations related to the organizations discussed. Not a recommendation to buy or sell. Always do additional research and consult a professional before purchasing a security. The author holds no licenses.
