Eby says B.C. NDP would tax new, unsold condos and raise speculation, vacancy fees

BC Premier David Eby, centre, makes an announcement on housing during a BC election campaign stop in Burnaby, BC., Friday, Sept. 25, 2026. Standing with Premier Eby are NDP candidates, from left, Rohani Arora, Jennifer Whiteside, Raj Chouhan and Janet Routledge. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Rich Lam

VICTORIA — British Columbia NDP Leader David Eby says his government would introduce a new tax on unsold condominiums and hike the existing speculation and vacancy tax to improve housing affordability if his party is re-elected on Oct. 24.

At a campaign stop in Burnaby, B.C., with a condo complex under construction behind him, Eby says the new tax would apply on finished units that have been left empty for more than a year.

The tax would have a starting rate of two per cent and increase by one per cent for each additional year the units remained unsold, and Eby says the plan could unlock about 5,000 condos.

He says B.C. residents should not have to pay sky-high prices to rent or buy homes, while developers sit on thousands of unfinished units and wait for prices to go up.

The New Democrat leader also says his government would increase the existing speculation and vacancy tax to two per cent for domestic owners and to five per cent for foreign owners.

The former NDP government brought in the tax in an effort to turn more vacant homes into housing and to ensure foreign owners or those with foreign income contributed fairly to B.C.’s tax system.

This report by Wolfgang Depner, The Canadian Press, was first published Sept. 25, 2026.