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If housing affordability is destined to be an election issue in 2019, Canada’s political parties are already fine tuning their arguments for how they will fix the problem.

In a debate in the House of Commons on Thursday, the Conservatives took aim at the mortgage stress test that requires Canadians to show they can withstand higher interest rates.

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“The stress test is a one-size-fits-all tool that punishes Canadians from coast to coast to coast, regardless of conditions in their local market,” Conservative MP Tom Kmiec said in a speech in the House. “It’s a deal for big banks, not Canadians.”

With most of Canada’s housing problems centered in Vancouver and Toronto, Kmiec said the stress test is having a destructive effect on his Calgary riding.

Homeowners renewing their mortgage financing who fail the stress test are confined to their original mortgage lender, without the opportunity to shop around. Kmiec said he’s heard stories of people being forced to sell their house because they can’t refinance after failing the stress test. Others are underwater on their mortgages thanks to the dampened market in Calgary, he said.