Toronto, ON: The Consumer Choice Center is applauding the Ford and Carney governments for extending their respective HST rebates on newly built homes to all homebuyers, a change from previous policy under which only first-time homebuyers qualified for the rebate.
The change from the provincial government will come through Budget 2026 and the federal government plans to introduce similar legislation at the federal level, according to a provincial news release. It will be in effect from April 1, 2026, to March 31, 2027.
The rebate’s structure remains the same, in that it begins to be reduced for homes valued over $1 million, with a full reduction beyond the $1.5-million mark.
Jay Goldberg, the CCC’s Canadian Affairs Manager, commented on the Ford and Carney governments’ move.
“Extending the HST rebate to all homebuyers is the right thing to do and will help families looking to move to new homes be able to afford to do so, opening up other housing stock for first-time homebuyers and spurring demand in the housing sector. Nonetheless, this move should be made permanent, rather than temporarily introduced for a period of one year, to give more certainty and predictability to the sector. As well, more needs to be done by government to address issues like zoning and development charges to truly spur more housing construction. This is a good first step, but more needs to be done to address the ailing housing sector,” said Goldberg.
