CANADA’S NEW HOUISING PROGRAM WON’T HELP, BUT SLOWING IMMIGRATION WILL: BMO
Canada just announced billions in new measures to correct the housing issues it created. Last night the Government of Canada (GoC) released its latest budget, including billions in spending on new housing stimulus. BMO provided a list of the recent changes, noting they’ll have a limited impact, given most of the measures are demand stimulus. However, they do see affordability improving soon—due to new limits on immigration. They reiterated that Canada doesn’t have a problem building, it has a...
read moreWEEK OF APRIL 15 2024 NEWSREEL WITH VANESSA TOPPLE
The Ontario government introduced the Cutting Red Tape to Build More Homes Act, as part of its ongoing commitment to cut red tape, speed up government processes and build at least 1.5 million homes by 2031.
read moreELIGIBLE LOW-INCOME RENTERS TO GET ONE-TIME $430 BENEFIT, B.C. GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCES
Low-income B.C. seniors and families already enrolled in one of two rental support programs will soon receive a one-time benefit, the province announced Tuesday. Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon announced the $430 payment will be given to seniors and families who are supported through the Shelter Aid for Elderly Renters, or SAFER, program as well as those getting a subsidy through the Rental Assistance Program. “We know that seniors are facing real challenges,” Kahlon said during a...
read moreOTTAWA IS FUNDING AFFORDABLE RENTAL PROJECTS THAT AREN’T ACTUALLY AFFORDABLE
When the $86-million low-interest loan for SoHo Italia apartment tower in Ottawa was announced in the summer of 2020, the federal government press release led with the line: “Every Canadian deserves a safe and affordable place to call home.” The project would provide housing for the middle class and “those working hard to join it,” said Ahmed Hussen, the cabinet minister then responsible for the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp., which lent the money under the largest program in the Ottawa’s...
read moreLANDLORDS REMOVING UNITS FROM RENT SUBSIDY PROGRAM, CITING INCREASED OPERATING COSTS
A senior civil servant in the New Brunswick Housing Corporation says his office is looking into an increased trend in landlords taking units off the corporation’s rent subsidy program. Gregory Forestell, the corporation’s vice-president of housing programs, says landlords are opting out of the rent subsidy program as early as five years after entering into agreements with the provincial body. “They’re seeing the opportunity to see a better return on their...
read moreRBC 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...
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