QUESTION PERIOD — Finance
Cost of Living
February 26, 2026
Senator Moreau, recent reports from Equifax Canada and TransUnion Canada show that Canadian household debt has climbed to a record high of $2.6 trillion, driven by soaring mortgage balances even as housing affordability remains out of reach for many families. Mortgage debt alone is approaching $2 trillion, with many facing payment shock at renewal, and rising non-mortgage delinquencies signal stress across households.
Would you agree that, over the past decade, your government’s policies have left Canadians dangerously over-leveraged and financially vulnerable in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis marked by food insecurity, job instability and growing hopelessness among young families?
The government has recognized that affordability is of the utmost importance for Canadians, and that’s why it has acted accordingly.
You’re talking about households. We are now seeing that household disposable incomes are rising. It’s not the government saying that; it’s the Bank of Canada. Housing markets are easing in Toronto, as well as in Vancouver, where you are from.
The government’s work does not stop here. More measures to stop the affordability crisis are on their way, including Bill C-4, which cuts the GST for first-time homebuyers; Bill C-15, which invests $57 billion in affordable child care, and which your party voted against in the other place; and Bill C-20, which invests $13 billion for new housing, facilitating access to benefits through a new automatic federal benefits system.
These are concrete measures. You must admit that these measures exist and are there to help Canadians.
The reality in Vancouver is that costs have risen so far. They may have decreased, but it is still absolutely unaffordable. I know that from my own daughter, who is in Vancouver.
The debt burden is growing, and younger Canadians shoulder mounting pressure from both housing costs and essential living expenses. When mortgage debt surpasses $2 trillion and families are choosing between groceries and housing, why should hard‑working Canadians believe the government’s economic policies are protecting families from falling deeper into financial peril?
It is because the question of affordability has been tackled by the government on many fronts. We lowered taxes for 22 million Canadians. We are cutting the consumer carbon tax. We are protecting Pharmacare, dental care and child care. We are lowering requirements to access the Disability Tax Credit. We are providing immediate relief on groceries. We are investing in housing projects across the country. Affordability is a multi-faceted question, and the government is working on every one of them.
