As Canadian cities are plagued by ever-higher home prices, governments look for ways to provide affordable housing for their citizens. They should look to their own ill-advised “urban containment” policies. Urban containment severely restricts or bans development in...
Housing Affordability
What is Middle-Income Housing Affordability?
Few local or metropolitan issues receive more attention than housing affordability. This article provides a perspective on housing affordability. The focus is on the approach used by the Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey, which I co-author...
Housing Affordability From Vancouver To Sydney To Toronto: Time To Do What Works
The front page of The Wall Street Journal cited the difficulty of cities (Note 1) trying to stop the escalation of house prices “Western Cities Try, and Fail, To Slow Chinese Home Buying.” The more descriptive online headline said: Western Cities Want to Slow Flood of...
Restoring Housing Affordability in Toronto: A Once-in-a-Generation Opportunity
By Wendell Cox May 4, 2018 Recently, Ontario PC leader Doug Ford’s proposed building single-family homes in a large supply of urban fringe (greenbelt) land to address Toronto’s severe housing affordability. This was a unique...
Featured News
Preston Manning: Report of the COVID Commission
Introductory Comment Brian Giesbrecht, Retired Judge, Frontier Centre Senior Fellow: The Frontier Centre for Public Policy is honoured to present Mr. Manning’s latest offering, in what he calls a fictionalized story. It is about everything that has happened to this...
Canada: Returning to the Original Vision
Many Canadians are aware of stories of how immigrants were originally attracted to Canada through the promise of free land. The then Minister responsible for immigration, Clifford Sifton, had his staff spread out across central and eastern Europe promising free land...
8th Annual Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey
The Frontier Centre releases a survey of 325 housing markets in seven countries including 35 from Canada. Vancouver is now the second least affordable housing market in the English speaking world, with the Prairies improving and Toronto continuning a long term trend of declining affordability.
Media Release – Canadian Housing Affordability Continues Gradual Decline: Restrictive Urban Planning to Blame
Frontier Centre Media Release – Canadian Housing Affordability Continues Gradual Decline: Restrictive Urban Planning to Blame.
Canadian Housing Affordability in One Page: Vancouver Housing Affordability: Second Worst in the English Speaking World
A one page look at housing affordability across 35 Canadian markets according to the 8th Annual Demographia International Housing Affordability survey.
Measuring Canada’s Housing Affordability Against the World
The Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey is the widest measure of global housing affordability. It reveals the affordability of housing in 35 Canadian markets as well as 290 other markets in six other countries.
Media Release – What Would $3 Billion Buy for Albertans?: A Valuation Analysis of ATB Financial
This study provides a ground-breaking valuation of the monetary worth of Alberta government-owned ATB Financial.
Audit and Review Required
It is time to review the role of Canada Mortgage and Housing in the Canadian economy
The Bank of Canada and Canada’s Household Debt
In the Bank of Canada’s semi-annual publication “Financial System Review” for December 2011, Canada’s central bank notes that there are some worrisome trends that could well have a negative impact on Canada’s financial system.
Rents Hit the Roof: As prices rise, city posts second-lowest vacancy rate
Winnipeg’s reputation as an affordable place to live is taking a beating, two newcomers from Eastern Canada say.
1% Correct – 99% Misguided
What we need today is a movement to convert repossessed properties into affordable rental housing.