B.C. Liberals must pull off balancing act on real estate: observers
VANCOUVER — Public outcry over British Columbia’s sizzling real estate market pushed the province’s Liberal government to introduce a foreign-buyers’ tax last month, but uncertainty around the policy leaves little room for political manoeuvring before next year’s election, once the impact of the tax is better understood, experts say.
Max Cameron, a political scientist at the University of British Columbia, said the prospect of housing affordability turning into an election issue is “undoubtedly” what motivated the Liberals to step in with the tax.
“Their gamble is that it’s better to look like you’re doing something than to appear indifferent or tone deaf to the issue,” Cameron said.
“This is a government that is very single-minded about its electoral calculations. That’s what drives its policy making.”