Ethics committee to probe Carney government’s B.C. condo bailout

The House ethics committee is set to meet Tuesday, July 7, to consider Pierre Poilievre’s request for a formal investigation into the federal-B.C. plan to spend roughly $1.45 billion (10 percent federal, the balance from B.C.) purchasing more than 2,200 unsold Vancouver-area condominiums for conversion to rent-to-own affordable housing. Poilievre’s June 28 letter to the committee argues the program amounts to a “bailout” for developers, bankers and investors that blocks a market price correction rather than lowering housing costs.

Reporting has since surfaced documented connections between the announcement and Liberal fundraising activity: Vancouver developer marketer Bob Rennie hosted a February 2026 fundraiser for Carney attended by at least 17 developers, and B.C. government records show Premier Eby was briefed for a meeting with Rennie the following month — roughly four months before the bailout was announced. Carney has said “no developer asked for this from me directly,” a denial that leaves open the question of indirect lobbying channels. Neither Ottawa nor Victoria has said which developers stand to benefit. Because Liberals now hold the majority on the ethics committee following April’s floor-crossings, whether Tuesday’s meeting produces a genuine investigation or a procedural dead end will be a live question — the committee chair, a Conservative, has told Poilievre the outcome rests with the Liberal-controlled membership.

Why it matters: This is as much a story about post-majority governance as it is about housing policy. It is the first real test of whether a Liberal-controlled ethics committee will pursue oversight of its own government now that by-election and floor-crossing gains have removed the leverage opposition parties previously held in a minority Parliament. It also lands amid broader affordability politics that both the CBC and Globe and Mail note remain Carney’s most exposed flank, with CMHC data showing a record glut of unsold condo units across Metro Vancouver.