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The government has been slow to deliver on its promised tax relief for Canadians buying their first home, according to federal data.
Responding to an order paper question from Conservative deputy leader Melissa Lantsman, the government published data that shows 150 applicants — a small fraction of the 7,500 applications received — have been approved for the goods and services tax (GST) rebate.
The federal rebate program promises to eliminate the GST for first-time homebuyers on a newly built or “substantially renovated” home worth up to $1 million, saving them up to the maximum rebate of $50,000.
On Wednesday, Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne didn’t mince words about the government’s performance in rolling out rebates.
“Obviously this is an important measure in terms of affordability so we’ll certainly look into that,” Champagne told reporters on Parliament Hill.
“We should be doing better.”
The government reported the average process time across the country for rebate applications is 50 days.
The data shows that as of June 19, 620 Canadians have been denied the rebate and 6,700 applications remain without a response. Of the applications that have been accepted, 130 are from Quebec, with the 20 others labelled as coming from the rest of Canada.
Ottawa has paid out a total of $3,577,000 on the approved rebate applications, according to the data. In its spring economic update, the government set aside $68.2 million for the tax rebate over three years, beginning in 2026–27.
The government’s data shows it has so far paid out an average rebate of about $24,000.
In an analysis released in June 2025, the parliamentary budget officer said Ottawa’s tax rebate would save first-time homebuyers an average of $26,832 on a newly built home. It estimated over 71,000 new builds would qualify over the program’s lifetime.
Slow rollout of an old promise
While Prime Minister Mark Carney announced the government would eliminate the GST for first-time homebuyers on homes at or under $1 million in March 2025, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre made the promise months earlier.
During the election campaign, Poilievre expanded his promise to include new homes up to $1.3 million, which remains part of the Conservative Party’s platform.
As part of the Liberals’ affordability Bill C-4, the GST rebate didn’t receive royal assent until March 2026.
According to John Fragos, spokesperson for the finance minister, the rebate’s slow uptake was due in part to uncertainty around the passage of its legislation. Bill C-4 faced a number of delays through the House of Commons and the Senate before becoming law.
Fragos said the government expects to see a “positive uptick” in the rollout of the GST rebate, “now that there’s concrete legislation” behind it.