Who’s the ideal finance minister … for brokers?

There are a few frontrunners, according to one leading economist, and brokers are getting in their request before Justin Trudeau even takes office

The Liberal government has yet to appoint the next minister of finance, but one leading broker has some suggestions for how he or she should oversee mortgage lending policy.

“I don’t think much should be changed [by the next Finance Minister]; the guidelines for lending in Canada are already pretty strict,” Darin Bauer, a broker with Mortgage Intelligence, told MortgageBrokerNews.ca. “It’s still quite difficult to get a mortgage in Canada, especially as a self-employed Canadian.

“They shouldn’t do anything and I think most brokers would agree.”

With the Liberals winning a majority in the 42nd general election Monday, a new finance minister will soon be appointed.

Many have already identified a number of forerunners, including; Ralph Goodale (former finance minister from 2003-2006), John McCallum (former Royal Bank chief economist), and Scott Brison (Liberal finance critic since 2010).

Others point to a young standout named Chrystia Freeland, a former business writer and executive at the Wall Street Journal and Thomson Reuters.

“These are names that pop up,” Benjamin Reitzes, senior economist at BMO Capital Markets, told the Financial Post. “Ideally, you want someone with some kind of economic experience and economic background in the first place. Bay Street experience would be one qualification, but I don’t think you necessarily need that.”

For their part, brokers may pull for someone who shares outgoing Finance Minister Joe Oliver’s approach.

“Joe Oliver didn’t really change much; he didn’t do much to rock the boat to be honest,” Bauer said. Flaherty certainly did a lot more.”