Taleeb Noormohamed first made headlines a few weeks back when it was revealed that the Liberal Party candidate in the Vancouver Granville riding has flipped more than 20 properties since 2015.
While flipping homes isn’t illegal, the revelation raised eyebrows and drew criticism due to the contradictions of his actions and the Liberal Party’s campaign promise to crack down on home flipping. The Liberals said they would impose a tax on anyone who sells a home within 12 months of purchasing it. The promise is among many designed (at least, in theory) to tackle housing affordability across the country.
It turns out, however, that Vancouver Granville voters didn't care too much about Noormohamed’s dramatic home-flipping past. Or, at least, they didn't care enough to keep him out of office. Last night, it was announced that he won his riding after one of the tightest races in the country.
The race was too close to call after a count of the ballots on Monday night.
Taleeb Noormohamed won with 34% of the vote, while NDP Party candidate Anjali Appadurai garnered 33%.
Noormohamed’s wheeling and dealing of homes wasn’t modest by any means. According to British Columbia's assessment records, since 2005, Noormohamed has sold 41 properties. Twenty-one of these homes were sold after less than a year of ownership.
Noormohamed made a cool $4.9 million in the process.
In one of the biggest misunderstandings of the the English-language Leaders' Debate, Erin O'Toole suggested that Liberal leader Justin Trudeau would tax the sale of primary residences.
“Mr. Trudeau, Canadians are worried you’re going to be taxing their primary home sales,” said O’Toole last night during the segment of the debate reserved for the topic of affordability. “Your advisers have said it … it’s on page 14 of its policy book.”
O’Toole’s claim was misleading, as page 14 of the Liberals’ policy book spoke of the prospect of implementing an ant-flipping tax that requires properties to be held for at least a year before being sold. So, the only homeowners who would have to pay the tax are those who sell their properties within 12 months of purchasing them... something Noormohamed clearly knows a thing or two about.
In an election that was so heavily focused on both affordability and the housing crisis, many might find it surprising that a candidate with such a clear history of abusing both would be elected.
