[wnc3141]

Can't speak to Canada's situation specifically, For your comment on housing as a government responsibility. You're correct that housing, for the most part, is privately financed and constructed.

However the limiting agent in this environment is governments willingness to zone and permit new housing construction. The aggregate supply of housing is mostly a function of government policy. One issue is that while it may be popular at federal level to boost housing supply, housing policy is mostly enacted through local government.

[hungryforcodes]

Though the government has lots of influence on this.

For example in most South East Asian countries it's impossible to buy land as a foreigner (basically a house).

Just this one rule alone would help the situation in Canada as there is alot of foreign ownership with as I understand it no restrictions.

Regulations favoring Canadian citizens wouldn't violate the spirit of the private market, and would certainly help Canada.

[likenesstheft]

> However the limiting agent in this environment is governments willingness to zone and permit new housing construction.

Yep. So they cause the problem in order to be the ones who conveniently have the solution. One that has the added benefit of keeping them more and more central and overreaching over your lives.