P.E.I. home builders may be challenged by new federal housing spending

The federal government has proposed billions of dollars in new spending to make housing more affordable for Canadians, but Island home builders say more money won't necessarily solve the problems.

Building and renovation experts were in Charlottetown for the P.E.I. Provincial Home Show this weekend, just days after Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland unveiled the 2022 federal budget.

In the budget, the government has set aside $10 billion over the next four years for housing, including $4 billion meant to speed up new construction.

Some people working in construction, however, say they are already struggling to keep up with demand in P.E.I.

"It wasn't so crazy before COVID started," said Oscar To of Legacy Homes. "Everything just went crazy after that. We are seeing more interest than before, especially from people from other provinces."

To said it used to be a four-month wait to build a home before the pandemic. Now it's taking about a year.

He said a shortage of workers is the main reason.

"We are having a lot of people leaving P.E.I. for other provinces because they get better salaries, wages," he said. "[We need] as many as we can get."

Some local entrepreneurs say they won't be able to keep up.

"We're getting stretched thin right now," said Tim Wilson, who started Dream Big Home Design with his wife about a year ago. "For us, as a company, it isn't too bad yet, but I can really see it starting to [be] overwhelming rather quick."

"We've been super-blessed to be just really busy and a lot of houses just need painting and need work done," said Hope DesRoche, who runs a painting business under the Student Works Management Program. "So I really think we would have to expand to keep up with that demand."

Other housing-related measures announced in the budget include a new tax-free savings account for those wanting to buy a home for the first time, and a two-year ban on foreign investors looking to buy residential property.

P.E.I. housing advocates have said that while the proposals look good on paper, they won't do much to improve housing affordability in the province.