The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) awarded themselves $27 million in bonuses in 2022, despite the fact that Canadians are facing the most unaffordable housing market in recent history. 

Since 2020, the CMHC has paid out $75 million in bonuses to employees.

The Crown corporation claims they are “driven by one goal: housing affordability for all.” 

“If the CMHC’s number one goal is housing affordability, then it doesn’t make sense to shower employees with bonuses and balloon its C-suite compensation while Canadians can’t afford to buy a home,” said CTF federal director Franco Terrazzano.

“This is another example of the government rewarding failure with taxpayer-funded bonuses.”  

Individual bonus amounts

The average bonus given to employees in 2022 was $11,700. The CTF obtained documents through an access to information request which showed that over 90% of CMHC staff have received bonuses recently — and the number of employees earning over $100,000 has increased by 27% since 2018.

This discovery comes just weeks after Canadians learned that over at another Crown corporation, the Bank of Canada, bureaucrats received $20 million in bonuses last year amid record-high inflation and seven interest rate hikes.

Canada’s dire housing situation

Recently, federal Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre pointed out the direness of Canada’s housing situation by drawing comparisons to the US. Poilievre made a reference to a small home in Niagara Falls worth $550,000, compared to a larger home and lot just across the US border, listed at $217,000 CAD.

Poilievre later apologized for referring to the Canadian home as a “tiny little shack” after mainstream media outlets attacked him for the remark. 

The average price for a home in Canada is currently $716,000, though in Vancouver the average detached home is $2.15 million and in Toronto, $1.27 million.

Renting in Canada will, on average, set you back $2,000 per month, or $3,000 if you’re in the Greater Toronto Area.