Canada’s housing minister owns at least three properties worth millions of dollars, including a lakeside estate and Vancouver penthouse, creating what housing advocates call a substantial conflict of interest as the country grapples with a still severe housing affordability crisis that reached historic lows in 2023.
Gregor Robertson, appointed by Prime Minister Mark Carney to address the housing emergency, refused to answer parliamentary questions about his real estate investments, according to a report published Friday by TheBreaker.news.
British Columbia property records show Robertson has interests in a $5.6 million lakeside property in Squamish spanning nearly 17 acres, a $2.85 million property near Tofino through a company he registered in 2020, and a Vancouver penthouse assessed at $2.4 million.
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The revelations come as Canada faces an unprecedented housing affordability crisis. Monthly mortgage payments are still 40% higher than pre-pandemic levels despite recent interest rate cuts, while home prices have increased more than 30% since April 2020. One-third of Canadians report experiencing significant financial difficulty due to rising housing costs, with 59% of residents — including 75% of renters — sacrificing basic needs like food and clothing to afford shelter.
Recent surveys show 70% of Canadians believe homeownership has become impossible, with the crisis particularly affecting young people. Almost half of millennials have considered delaying starting a family because they cannot afford suitable housing.
Like Robertson, a significant portion of federal politicians have real estate investments. In 2023, at least 128 of Canada’s 338 MPs — 38% of Parliament — own rental or investment properties, including 61 Liberals, 53 Conservatives, six Bloc Quebecois, four NDP members, and both Green MPs. Among federal cabinet ministers, roughly one-third own rental or investment real estate assets.
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Housing advocates argue this creates inherent conflicts of interest, even if technically legal under current ethics laws. Vancouver housing advocate Rohana Rezel describes a “nice loophole” in federal conflict of interest legislation that allows MPs to own rental properties while setting housing policies, as long as their decisions affect property owners as “a broad class of persons.”
“I think the conflict of interest is really substantial,” said Margaret van Nooten, a housing rights advocate in Montreal. “I don’t think they’re going to be defending their constituents if they are stakeholders [in the housing market].”
Robertson, a former Vancouver mayor who served from 2008 to 2018, made his political comeback when Carney’s Liberals won the April federal election. During his mayoral tenure, Vancouver experienced significant housing price increases driven partly by foreign investment.
The investment property trend is particularly pronounced in Vancouver’s market, where investors control nearly half of the condominium stock and one-third of all residential properties. Nationally, investor ownership accounts for approximately 20% of homes.
Conservative MP Scot Davidson had sought details about Robertson’s property holdings during a House of Commons exchange, but the minister declined to provide specifics about the number of investment properties he owns.
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