Canada weighing tax changes to target short-term rentals like Airbnb, says minister

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberal government is under pressure to tackle a housing crisis, and Fraser said tens of thousands of homes could be made available to Canadians by cracking down on short-term rentals.

"We do have an opportunity to reduce the number of short-term rentals and at the same time increase the number of homes available for the general population," Fraser told reporters in Ottawa.

Fraser said changing the tax system was among measures being considered when asked about a newspaper report about an incoming measure on short-term rentals in the federal government's fall economic statement on Tuesday.

"This is one of the areas that we're looking at, but it's not necessarily the only one," he said, without specifying potential changes to the tax system.

Housing supply has failed to keep up with Canada's immigration-fueled population growth, and affordability worsened during the coronavirus pandemic when housing prices soared due to high demand amid low borrowing costs.

Ottawa has announced measures including a plan to convert six federal properties into new homes by March and to identify more public buildings for home conversion.

The fall economic statement is also expected to offer C$15 billion ($11 billion) in 10-year loans for new rental housing construction, a C$1-billion fund dedicated to getting more affordable housing built, and new mortgage rules for lenders dealing with homeowners at risk, according to a CBC News report on Monday.