The federal Conservative campaign pledge to revive the popular home renovation tax credit comes at a time when Canada’s renovation industry is already outperforming the broader economy and booming past the market for new homes.
Canadians spent $68-billion on home renovations last year compared with $48-billion spent building new homes, according to a recent report from real estate consultancy Altus Group Ltd. Over the past seven years, spending on renovations has grown 3.6 per cent, versus overall economic growth of just 1.6 per cent. Last year, home renovations accounted for 3.4 per cent of Canada’s GDP.
“We currently spend substantially more as a nation on improving and repairing our existing homes than on constructing new ones,” the consultancy wrote.
Provided the Conservatives are re-elected in October, the tax credit would be phased in starting in the 2016-2017 budget year, Conservative Leader Stephen Harper told reporters in Toronto on Tuesday.
The tax credit,...