Over the past few years, governments have taken important steps to improve housing affordability. Ontario and the federal government have worked together to significantly reduce development charges and lower the harmonized sales tax (HST) on new homes. The governments took these steps largely because high housing taxes make homes less affordable and discourage new construction.
These reforms matter, but the work is far from finished when it comes to reducing homeownership taxes in the GTA and Simcoe County.
One tax still stands above all others as a barrier to homeownership in Toronto: Toronto’s Land Transfer Tax.
As voters prepare for the October 2026 municipal election, they should ask candidates whether they will commit to reducing Toronto’s Municipal Land Transfer Tax (MLTT) and oppose efforts to spread this double tax to other GTA and Simcoe County municipalities.
The answer matters because this tax has become one of the biggest obstacles facing young families and individuals looking to achieve the Canadian dream of home ownership.
Toronto remains the only municipality in Ontario that charges its own land transfer tax in addition to the provincial land transfer tax. Every homebuyer pays twice. On an average-priced Toronto home, the MLTT adds more than $18,000 in upfront closing costs before buyers have even unpacked a single box. For many families and individuals, particularly first-time buyers, the combined municipal and provincial land transfer taxes can exceed $36,000.
That is not a housing affordability strategy. It is a homeownership dream killer.
Housing affordability is already under enormous pressure from higher interest rates, construction costs, and limited supply. Governments should remove barriers that prevent people from buying homes, not create new ones.
The MLTT has generated billions of dollars since Toronto introduced it in 2008, yet housing affordability has continued to deteriorate. Toronto still faces chronic housing shortages. Gridlock remains severe. Residents continue to struggle with affordability, transit, and access to city services despite repeated tax increases and billions in additional provincial support through the New Deal with Ontario.
Toronto’s introduction of the MLTT has not made the city more livable, affordable, or safe. Instead, it has put sand in the gears of our housing market, making it harder to move closer to family or job opportunities and discouraging investment in our city.
Another concern deserves attention.
As municipalities across the GTA search for new revenue sources, some have begun discussing Toronto’s MLTT as a model they could follow. That would be a serious mistake.
Many GTA communities already have average home prices at or exceeding $1 million. Applying a Toronto-style municipal land transfer tax would add tens of thousands of dollars to the cost of buying a home. Families purchasing an average home in many GTA communities could face municipal land transfer taxes approaching or exceeding $20,000 before paying the provincial tax on top.
Housing affordability in the GTA is already challenging enough. We should not export one of Toronto’s least effective policies to the rest of the region.
The October municipal election allows residents to demand something better.
For Toronto candidates, that means committing to reducing the MLTT, especially for first-time homebuyers, before the end of the next council term. The issue is already part of the election conversation, with proposals emerging to expand relief from the MLTT, including for first-time homebuyers. If passed by the next council, this proposal will open the door to more home ownership in Toronto by saving home buyers $18,000 on an average-priced home.
Outside the City of Toronto and across the rest of the GTA and Simcoe County, candidates must commit to opposing any attempt to introduce an MLTT in their communities.
Candidates will talk about affordability, housing, and building complete communities. They should also explain whether they support continuing a tax at the current level that makes buying a home even harder.
For Toronto candidates, it means clearly committing to reducing the MLTT, especially for first-time homebuyers, before the end of the next council term.
For candidates across the rest of the GTA and Simcoe County, it means making a clear commitment to oppose any attempt to introduce a municipal land transfer tax in their communities.
Housing affordability requires many solutions. We need to continue reducing development charges, modernizing planning approvals, supporting innovative construction methods, removing barriers to new housing supply, and ensuring taxes do not stand in the way of homeownership.
The progress governments have made over the past year shows that they are beginning to move in the right direction.
If we are serious about making homeownership more attainable, we must stop punishing people for buying a home. The October 2026 election is an opportunity to reject the dream-crushing double tax and put Toronto on a path toward a more affordable future.
Daniel Steinfeld
TRREB President