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But the Liberals are heading back to Ottawa 13 members of parliament short of majority status in the 338-seat House of Commons. To pass legislation, a Liberal minority government will need to cobble together support from other parties.

A possible (and perhaps even likely) partner for the Liberals is the NDP, which secured 24 seats in the election and whose platform also promised to fight real-estate speculation. Instead of an annual tax on foreign homeowners, the New Democrats and leader Jagmeet Singh pledged a 15-per-cent foreign buyer’s tax on the sale of homes to non-Canadians or people who are not permanent residents.

Singh in his concession speech said he had spoken to Trudeau and “let him know that we’ll be working hard on making sure we deliver the priorities that Canadians have.”

He later added, “We want to help Canadians be able to get a home that they can afford.”

Neither the Liberal nor NDP proposal may be enough to slam the brakes on a Canadian housing market that has continued to gain momentum. Home sales increased 15.5 per cent in September from a year earlier, the Canadian Real Estate Association reported earlier this month.

“The vacancy tax will create a nuisance for mobile homeowners and will generate a modest revenue source for the government, but it is unlikely to have broader economic impacts,” noted Rebekah Young, director of fiscal and provincial economics at the Bank of Nova Scotia. “Otherwise, the leading party has so far resisted broader measures pitched by other parties that would further fuel price escalation. An NDP alliance would put welcomed pressure on accelerating supply side solutions but its broad-based foreign buyer’s tax proposal warrants caution.”