NDP leader pitches low-interest mortgage loans for first-time homebuyers

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh leaves after a federal election campaign stop in Port Moody, B.C. on Sunday, March 30, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christinne Muschi

PORT MOODY, B.C. — NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh promised Sunday that a federal government led by him would offer first-time homebuyers access to low interest loans.

Singh said the federal government extends loans to “wealthy developers” but not to “everyday families” and an NDP government would offer low interest loans to those who qualify for a mortgage but may not be able to afford bank rates.

“It’s never been done before, but if we can give loans to large, wealthy developers to buy buildings, to buy homes, why can’t we give everyday families a break?” he said.

Singh said that while first-time homebuyers would benefit from publicly-backed mortgage loans, the housing crisis calls for multiple approaches.

He said Canada still needs a mix of housing types, including co-operatives and non-profits, but low interest loans would help “keep the dream of home ownership alive.”

“Large corporations have been receiving low interest loans from the federal government,” he said. “Liberals and Conservatives have been giving them low interest loan loans for a long time, but they haven’t been helping a first time homebuyer buy their home. I think that’s wrong.”

The NDP leader campaigned in Port Moody, B.C. Sunday morning and was joined by the party’s candidates from several Lower Mainland ridings.

Many of the party’s elected members of Parliament represent B.C. ridings -- districts the federal Conservatives are looking to flip. Singh said British Columbians should “remember it’s New Democrats that beat Conservatives.”

Singh took aim at both Liberal Leader Mark Carney and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, comparing the choice between them to a choice between a “leaky roof or a cracked foundation.”

He said media reports suggesting the Conservative campaign is in “disarray internally” show they are “fighting each other instead of standing up for Canadians.”

Singh cited the federal dental care plan, pharmacare and anti-scab legislation as NDP accomplishments that the Liberal government “might be bragging about.”

“We actually made those things happen,” he said.

Singh’s campaign moves to Vancouver Island on Monday before making its way east in the coming week.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 30, 2025.