RBC URGES CANADA TO PRIORITIZE CONSTRUCTION SKILLS TO IMMIGRANTS TO TACKLE HOUSING CRISIS
Prioritizing construction skills in new immigrants and embracing innovative designs and building techniques top a list of recommendations from economists at Royal Bank of Canada on how best to tackle Canada’s housing crisis. “Canada could need more than 500,000 additional construction workers on average to build all homes needed between now and 2030 — and even more than that in the short term to meet peak growth in demand,” the economists said in a report released Monday. To address the...
read moreWEEK OF APRIL 8 2024 NEWSREEL WITH VANESSA TOPPLE
As mentioned last week, the Federal Liberals would continue making announcements ahead of the April 16 budget and they did exactly that by announcing billions of dollars in spending in an ongoing campaign intended to help the housing crisis.
read moreTRUDEAU’S OUT-OF-CONTROL IMMIGRATION HURTING JOBS AND HOUSING
Canada’s out-of-control immigration numbers are not only having a negative impact on housing, they are now hurting the employment situation. In the same week that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that we are bringing in people faster than we can absorb them in the housing market, Statistics Canada issued a warning on jobs. The March unemployment rate stood at 6.1%, a full point higher than the 5.1% recorded in March of 2023. According to StatsCan, we are bringing in people faster than we are...
read moreALBERTA GOVERNMENT HAS ‘DEEP CONCERNS’ ABOUT FEDERAL HOUSING ANNOUNCEMENT
The Alberta government says it has “deep concerns” and not enough information about a $6-billion federal housing announcement made Tuesday morning. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made the announcement while he was in Dartmouth, N.S., as part of the government’s pre-budget tour. Trudeau says while the fund will help address the housing shortage plaguing Canadians, provinces and territories have to adopt certain housing policies in order to access it. The offices of Jason Nixon, Minister of...
read moreWHY JUSTIN TRUDEAU’S ‘BILL OF RIGHTS’ MAY NOT HELP RENTERS IN B.C.
Justin Trudeau’s proposed renters bill of rights is irrelevant without a massive increase in rental stock, say some housing observers. This past week, the prime minister announced measures to help renters as part of the upcoming federal budget, including a requirement for landlords to disclose their properties’ rental price history so renters can bargain fairly. But housing experts say tenants will still face increasing rents due to the lack of rental stock. “In cities where there are very...
read moreHOME PRICES COULD REACH PEAK LEVELS BY NEXT YEAR, SET NEW HIGHS IN 2026, CMHC REPORT SHOWS
The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. is forecasting home prices could match peak levels seen in early 2022 by next year and reach new highs by 2026. The agency’s latest housing market outlook, released Thursday, says despite an increase in rental housing coming on the market in 2023, supply is not forecast to keep up with demand, leading to higher rents and lower vacancy rates in the coming years. “Unfavourable financing conditions are expected to make it more difficult for home builders to...
read moreWEEK OF APRIL 1 2024 NEWSREEL WITH VANESSA TOPPLE
The federal government announced a Canadian Renters Bill of Rights and we cover the headlines.
read moreLANDLORD GROUP’S PUSH TO KILL WINDSOR’S RENTAL LICENSE PROGRAM DISMISSED
The Windsor city councillor who championed a residential rental licensing pilot program is “delighted” with the city’s win in a court challenge to the program made by a group of landlords. On Monday, Ontario Superior Court Justice Kelly Gorman ruled against Windsor Housing Providers, Inc.’s arguments and dismissed their application. It means the City of Windsor can continue with its Residential Rental Licensing (RRL) program in Ward 1 and Ward 2, which was first...
read moreTRUDEAU ISN’T INTERESTED IN BEING THE PM, HE WANTS TO BE PREMIER
I really don’t know why Justin Trudeau doesn’t step down as prime minister of Canada and run to be premier of Quebec. Based on his policy priorities, this is clearly the level of government that he should be in. Over the past several years, Trudeau has introduced childcare programs, pharmacare, dental care, and now he’s talking about a renter’s bill of rights.To accomplish this goal, like all the other programs, Trudeau will need to negotiate with the provinces and territories. Anything to do...
read moreMONTREAL ANNOUNCES MEASURE TO INCREASE LANDLORD ACCOUNTABILITY AMID HOUSING CRISIS
The city of Montreal says it wants to crack down on the housing crisis with measures intended to slow rent increases and hold landlords accountable for lack of maintenance. The measures include an inspection blitz of 10,000 housing units in buildings with six or more units this year. The city is also investing $30,000 in an organization that created an online rent registry. Montreal also wants to increase pressure on landlords to conduct repairs by alerting mortgage creditors when a building...
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