Rising house prices are a significant concern throughout Alberta, especially among first home buyers, many of whom are aspiring young families. There was, however, some good news out of the provincial budget that was announced at the end of October, as the Notley...
Housing Affordability
A Question of Values
House prices in Canada have risen more than in most other high-income nations. Housing has become severely unaffordable, especially in Vancouver and Toronto. Housing affordability has also deteriorated markedly in London, Sydney, Auckland, San Francisco, Los Angeles...
Moving from Canada’s Biggest Cities
People have been moving away from Canada’s largest metropolitan areas (Toronto, Montréal and Vancouver) for the last decade, according to Statistics Canada 2004/5 to 2013/4 data. Internal migration includes moving by residents within provinces...
Canada’s Affluent Middle-Class at Risk
According to The New York Times, Canada now has the most affluent middle-class in the world. This is based on a newspaper study commissioned by LIS, which maintains the Luxembourg Income Study Database. According to The Times “the American middle class, long the...
Featured News
The Renewable Part of Hydrogen is the Hype
Once again, the world is staging ClimateFest 26, aka the United Nations Conference of the Parties, where peddlers of alternative energy schemes try to plunge their dippers into the river of climate change funding that flows around the world. This funding is generated...
Small Gestures Speak Louder than Great Deeds
The age-old expression that actions speak louder than words conveys an important insight: character is best judged through action. Anyone can say or promise anything but doing requires ability and skill, discipline and commitment. So, the simplest test of character is...
China Should Send Western Planners Home
Generally, Chinese urban planning policies have been a substantial contributor to the nation’s rising wealth. It is to be hoped that the advice of the western planners will continue to be respectfully listened to and largely ignored.
How to Help 21,000 More Manitobans with Their Housing
21,000 more low-income Manitobans could be helped if the provincial government sold the province’s residential real estate portfolio, this according to a new backgrounder and column from Daniel Klymchuk at the Frontier Centre for Public Policy.
The Case for Selling Public Housing in Manitoba
The Manitoba government should sell its residential real estate holdings to the private sector and then concentrate on providing targeted subsidies to low-income Manitobans, this according to a new backgrounder from the Frontier Centre for Public Policy. The report, from Frontier research associate Dan Klymchuk, shows how $25 million could be shaved off annual operating costs now paid by the provincial government, and instead redirected to those Manitobans in need of subsidized shelter. That $25 million could help subsidize 21,000 more people with their housing costs.
Media Release – New Frontier Centre Backgrounder Shows How 21,000 More Manitobans Could Get Affordable Housing
21,000 more low-income Manitobans could be helped if the provincial government sold the province’s residential real estate portfolio, this according to a new study from the Frontier Centre for Public Policy
Manitoba – Canada’s Biggest Provincial Landlord
Compared to other western provinces, Manitoba public housing ownership, at 110 per 10,000, is orders of magnitude higher – over twice the levels in Saskatchewan and British Columbia (220%), and over 3 times the Alberta level (305%).
Go-Ahead For Urban Sprawl
The Victorian Government has all but given up on a long-standing pledge to contain Melbourne’s urban sprawl, announcing another big expansion of the metropolitan boundary for new housing. Six years after setting a “clear boundary” for the city in the Melbourne 2030 policy, the Government has succumbed to a booming population, a housing shortage and resistance to high-density development in established suburbs.
Media Release: 50% of Canadians’ Wealth is Not Protected from Expropriation
A new study notes that over 50% of the personal wealth held by Canadians is held in real estate – and that it is not protected from expropriation.
Root Causes Of The Financial Crisis: A Primer
All of this leads to the bottom line. It is crucial that smart growth’s toxic land rationing policies be dismantled as quickly as possible. Otherwise, there could be further smart growth economic crises ahead, or, perhaps even worse, a further freezing of economic opportunity for future generations.
The Financial Crisis: Bubbles Deflating Worldwide
The mortgage meltdown is much more than an American affair. Real estate bubbles have developed in all major English speaking countries – US, Canada, UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. Where prices will finally settle, no one knows. Some analysts soothe the market claiming that the bottom is near.