Toronto, – The federal government’s role in mortgage markets is pervasive and should be scaled back, while encouraging more competition in the mortgage insurance business, according to a study released today by the C.D. Howe Institute. In “What Governments Should Do in Mortgage Markets,” author Finn Poschmann, Vice President, Research, at the Institute, notes that the mortgage insurance book of Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, CMHC, which is a Crown agency, now backstops mortgage lending equivalent to more than 30 percent of gross domestic product. While the net exposure is less than this, the arrangement subjects Canadian taxpayers to large, ill-defined risks. Poschmann suggests several steps to manage these risks better.
