“Homelessness & Affordability Crisis”

Canada’s record population growth combined with slowing new home construction might seem paradoxical at first. The Government of Canada (GoC) claims it’s because housing is “illegal” but a confidential memo sent to lenders indicates it’s an issue of leverage. The CMHC quietly notified lenders they’ll be extending the maximum amortization, or length of repayment. The developer bailout will help borrowers repay their loan over two generations, with projects at risk of default now able to extend their repayment term up to 55 years.

The federal government’s promise to build nearly 3.9 million new homes by 2031 is unrealistic and unachievable, construction experts told MPs.

“Right now, we’re staring into a pit,” Residential Construction Council of Ontario president Richard Lyall told the House of Commons human resources committee this week, which was first covered by Blacklock’s Reporter.

“When cranes come down, they’re not going back up. We’re headed down in a big way and our sub-trade pipelines are dry. It’s drying up.”

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appears to believe he can amend a heretofore inviolate law of economics: that of supply and demand.

He said as much in a recent appearance on The Globe and Mail podcast City Space in which he talked about housing affordability. He was asked whether current homeowners will have to accept some sacrifices so aspiring homeowners – who are presently priced out – can enter the market.

Canadian real estate prices have surged in almost every market, with a typical home price doubling in many regions. A median household in major cities like Toronto and Vancouver would need to save over 20 years for just the down payment, more than 3x the historic average. Seems absurd? The outlandish scenario was apparently a part of everyone’s retirement plan, according to Canada’s government.

That’s according to statements made by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in an interview with the Globe & Mail’s City Space podcast. “Housing needs to retain its value… It’s a huge part of people’s potential for retirement and future nest egg,” he explained when discussing affordability.

The statement is shocking. If the intention was to never lower home prices, what was with the tens of billions spent on improving affordability about? We’ve long argued many of the measures implemented were actually to reinforce prices, not lower them. But let’s look past all of that, and get to the most disturbing part of that sentence. 

An unhoused woman almost a year into exile at a small RV encampment in Hamilton’s North End says she’s hopeful a permanent housing solution that fits her needs will arrive soon.

Heather Grant’s precarious life at the Barton-Tiffany brownfield continues after a dispute over plumbing with a landlord last June put her family into a tent at Woodlands Park then the recreational vehicle they currently reside in today.

Sometimes, politics is simple.

Occasionally, voters disregard all the noise, look at their own personal circumstance and vote accordingly.

That would not bode well for the Liberals in next year’s election.

In the House of Commons on Monday, Conservative Leader, Pierre Poilievre, pointed out that three-quarters of the outstanding mortgages in the country will be coming up for renewal before the end of 2026.

As predicted on this blog, Trudeau is working to support sky high real estate prices in cities to protect his urban vote base.

Trudeau says real estate needs to be more affordable, but lowering home prices would put retirement plans at risk

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says his government aims to make housing more affordable for younger Canadians without bringing down home prices for existing homeowners.

Cutting shelter costs while ensuring that homeowners’ property values remain high could be viewed as contradictory, but Mr. Trudeau was adamant that property owners would not lose out.

“Housing needs to retain its value,” Mr. Trudeau told The Globe and Mail’s City Space podcast. “It’s a huge part of people’s potential for retirement and future nest egg.”

Mass immigration will be maintained at unsustainable levels to force housing prices ever higher and drive rents out of reach.

Trudeau’s corporate cronies will reap a bonanza from the shortages mass immigration brings not the least of which is depressed wages.

The Bank of Canada’s decision to hike rates is making it harder for buyers to get mortgages — and builders to afford new projects.

Orange construction cranes pepper the skyline of Metro Vancouver, seemingly more than ever.

Gleaming new condo towers are going up like never before, from North Vancouver to Surrey. House and rental prices are exorbitant. Old houses are being torn down for multi-unit buildings. It all gives the impression the residential construction business is booming.