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Coun. George Chahal, who intends to present a notice of motion next week asking the city to advocate for a regional approach to lending rules, said he has already seen the effect of the new mortgage rules in his ward and is worried it will only get worse.

And with the city approving 14 new communities last year, Chahal said he’s also heard from developers concerned about the softening market and the effect construction delays and slow housing absorption could have on their businesses.

“The unintended consequences are with a slowing construction industry, there could be more job losses. We’ve already seen a number of layoffs,” he said.

“This is the wrong time to slow down an economy which has already been slowing and petering into recession.”

The mortgage stress test, which aims to reduce the amount of debt homeowners and financial institutions can take on, applies to all Canadian homebuyers — even those who make a down payment of 20 per cent or more. Kenney said the rules made sense for Toronto and Vancouver, where real estate speculation has been rampant, but should have been applied in a “geographically targeted way.”

He added the UCP is also interested in working with provincial credit unions and ATB Financial branches to help Alberta buyers sidestep the rules. Only federally regulated lenders are obligated to apply the stress test, though many other lenders have been voluntarily applying it.

Speaking to reporters in Calgary on Wednesday, Premier Rachel Notley said calling for the removal of the mortgage stress test for Albertans is something the NDP government could “look into,” but she cautioned that Albertans actually carry a high level of debt relative to other Canadians.