MNI BRIEF:Trudeau Opens Fiscal Taps On Housing Before BOC Meet

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Wednesday announced a CAD15 billion loan backstop for new apartment construction, the latest such billion-dollar fiscal announcement aiming to boost supply in what the IMF has called one of the world's most stretched housing markets ahead of elections due next year.

The announcements by Trudeau, well behind the Conservative opposition in polls, scoop a budget due days after the Bank of Canada's April 10 rate meeting, and suggest fiscal policy isn't getting tighter in tandem with monetary policy. BOC Governor Tiff Macklem is expected to hold the key lending rate at 5% next week and at times has suggested rapid government spending makes curbing inflation harder. (See: MNI INTERVIEW: BOC Has Case For No Cut This Year: Dal's McNeil)