On Tuesday, Liberal leader Justin Trudeau unveiled a multi-billion-dollar housing strategy to help Canadians buy a home at a time when the market is sky high. The plan includes measures to curb the practice of "flipping" homes, the banning of so-called "blind bidding" and a promise to double the first-time homebuyers tax credit.

Part of the plan is to introduce a government-funded rent-to-own program to help renters get on the path to home ownership. The party is promising $1 billion in loans and grants to develop rent-to-own projects with partners from the private, not-for-profit and co-op sectors.

If that sounds familiar to Torontonians — that's because it is.

In 2018, former mayoral candidate Jennifer Keesmaat proposed a similar program for the city.

While some are praising the proposal as a positive initiative that helps renters who are struggling with a down payment, others say it caters to a niche group of constituents, and that housing supply is what all parties need to focus on to make cities like Toronto more affordable.

How it works

"I was actually really pleased when I heard the [Liberals'] announcement," said Keesmaat, a former businesswoman and chief planner for the City of Toronto.

"Because I think what we're beginning to see in this campaign is housing solutions that actually respond to the magnitude of the challenge that we're faced with."

• Have an election question for CBC News? Email ask@cbc.ca. Your input helps inform our coverage.

The magnitude of the challenge Keesmaat is speaking about is enormous. The average price for all home types combined in the Greater Toronto Area as of last month is $1,062,256 — up 12.6 per cent compared to July 2020, according to the latest report from the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board.

Continue to read on: CBC.ca