Business Leaders Say Housing Biggest Risk to Economy: KPMG Survey

Business leaders see the housing crisis as the biggest risk to the economy, a new survey from KPMG Canada shows. It found 94 percent of respondents agreed that high housing costs and a lack of supply are the top risk, and that housing should be a main focus in the upcoming federal budget. The survey questioned 534 businesses. Housing issues are forcing businesses to boost pay to better attract talent and budget for higher labour costs, agreed 87 percent of respondents. “What we’re seeing in the survey is that the businesses are needing to pay more to enable their workers to absorb these higher costs of living,” said Caroline Charest, an economist and Montreal-based partner at KPMG....