Canada

CMHC funded housing for decades. Conservative and Liberal governments funded it, and it worked in tandem with provinces that had governments of all stripes. That ended in the austerity of the 80s and 90s that was implemented by Conservative and Liberal federal governments.

Immigration increases economic activity far beyond its costs.

That isn't in question.

The original article and CMHC piece describe a reduction in demand for rentals as one of the reasons prices have fallen slightly, and suggest that a reduction in immigration is the cause, thanks to where the reductions have happened.

So racists have to lie about its economic effect, because using racism is very exposing.

This isn't a question of race. It's a question of government policy, and the effect it has on people.

Poor federal and provincial planning has triggered a polycrisis. By fixing the mistakes, hopefully we'll be able to welcome more people. In many cases, immigration can provide a fix by bringing in people we need. (There's a missing conversation about what that does to their home country and the quality of life Canada provides after they arrive, but let's save that for later)

But it's hard to have conversations about potential fixes when mentions of immigration are greeted with accusations of racism.