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The government will spend nearly $300 million over the next decade to collect data about the housing market.

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In particular, the Liberals have budgeted $39.9 million over the next five years so that Statistics Canada can compile information on foreign ownership of homes in Canada, as well as assembling data on the demographics of owners and how they are financing their home purchases.

It’s hardly the biggest spending commitment in a federal budget that contemplates well over $300 billion in annual program spending. It’s also a fraction of the government’s $11.2 billion, 11-year national housing strategy.

But economists say it’s an important move because it would provide a clearer picture on the conditions driving housing prices. While some provinces, such as B.C. and Ontario, have moved to compile their own data on home ownership, the nationwide picture has been one of anecdote, not evidence.