In the wake of Victoria City Council's decision not to pursue a foreign buyer's tax, Mayor Lisa Helps says it's important to keep working with whoever wins the next provincial election in order to find a solution to Victoria's housing crunch.
The vote was struck down on a 4-4 split vote after passing through a committee meeting stage with a 5-3 vote earlier this month.
Councillor Marianne Alto who originally entertained the idea in earlier council meetings voted no in the end.
Helps says, "there's no silver bullet. What it says to me is we really have to keep on all the parties running in the provincial election so home ownership isn't out of reach for the majority of citizens living in our region, which it is right now and that's no good."
The move ended months of speculation on whether Victoria would follow Vancouver and Toronto's lead by implementing the tax.
The Mayor says the city is still looking at implementing a vacant home tax on properties that remain unoccupied or derelict.