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Missing is discussion of whether government policy, which has restricted development and constrained supply, is part of the reason elevated prices exist in both Vancouver and Toronto.

Builders have been discussing it for years. But this week the federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau waded into the issue and suggested that, maybe, among the many other issues, it’s not all about demand.

“We have supply issues,” Morneau said during the Canada Summit conference, held in Toronto Wednesday. “There’s 5.5 families for every single detached home in Vancouver. There’s 1.8 families across the country for every single detached home.”

Afterwards, talking to reporters, he hinted more broadly that perhaps some of the responsibility for the state of housing markets in Vancouver and Toronto may lie at another government level.

“I think, as you’ll recognize, the housing market is one where we have to work together with provinces and municipalities. That’s an ongoing consideration for us. We wouldn’t want to talk about actions without ensuring that we’ve fully considered all the evidence and all of the drivers. That’s the stage we’re at,” said Morneau, whose government is also looking at other factors including foreign ownership.

Good for him. The supply side of the housing equation is mostly ignored by both municipal and provincial governments — even though they are at least partially responsible for prices today.

The Toronto-based Building and Land Industry Association says the gap between a high-rise condo and low-rise home has never been wider, with the average new detached home in the Greater Toronto Area now $1,059,263. Toronto’s Greenbelt — land around the city that can’t be developed — is actually set to grow and with it more price disparity.