If you’ve stocked up at a grocery store for a barbecue lately, you’ve probably experienced sticker shock when it comes to the price of beef.
According to Statistics Canada, the price of fresh or frozen beef has gone up almost 13 percent since May of last year. In contrast, fresh or frozen pork and fresh or frozen chicken went up 3 per cent and 1.8 per cent, respectively.
For meat and cattle market analyst Kevin Grier, the ongoing growth defies expectations.
Real estate developers are pushing back against claims that a new federal-provincial program to buy up empty condos is something the industry asked for, with the Urban Development Institute and others saying that it isn’t a bailout and won’t help their sector.
Two weeks ago, Premier David Eby and Prime Minister Mark Carney said they are putting together a plan to buy more than 2,200 unsold local condos and provide them as affordable housing.
VANCOUVER – BC Housing records for March 2026 say that Premier David Eby was briefed for a meeting with Vancouver condo marketer Bob Rennie, the industry leader who hosted a February 2026 fundraiser for Prime Minister Mark Carney — attended by at least 17 leading developers — that has now been cited in Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre’s call for an ethics investigation into the controversial multi-billion-dollar developer bailout that was announced four months after Eby’s planned meeting with Rennie was documented, The Bureau has learned.
According to data collected by Ratehub, the average Toronto condo price in March 2022 was $831,351, requiring a household income of $156,320. As of May 2026, the average condo price has dropped by roughly 19 per cent, to $673,841, requiring a household income of $139,000.
BUT … The Star is omitting pertinent facts about income figures.
The average household income in the City of Toronto is approximately $121,200 to $129,000 before taxes, while the median household income is roughly $84,000 to $97,000. The higher average compared to the median is typically skewed by a larger share of upper-income households.
In Ontario, the average household total income is approximately $116,000 before taxes, and the average after-tax income is about $95,300. For median household income (the midpoint), the figure sits at roughly $81,000 before taxes and $79,500 after taxes
The backlash came fast and furious, and with greater velocity than perhaps at any other moment in Mark Carney‘s tenure as prime minister.
The Liberals’ proposal last week — to put up 10 per cent of roughly $1.45 billion for the acquisition of unsold B.C. condos which in turn would be sold at affordable rates on a rent-to-buy basis — was rapidly condemned by critics as a “bailout” — evidence not only of political perfidy, but also ideological gymnastics on the part of a former central banker who, once upon a time, cautioned against this kind of moral hazard. (Carney himself acknowledged the reveal was a case study in miscommunication)
A growing gap is emerging between financially secure Canadians benefiting from rising asset values and those struggling to keep up with everyday expenses, according to a new Angus Reid Institute survey.
The poll found 70% of Canadians describe their household finances as either “good” or “very good,” but more than one-quarter (27%) say they are in poor or very poor financial condition.
Food prices have risen significantly faster than other prices over the past decade, both in Canada and elsewhere. Monday’s inflation numbers showed that prices of food purchased in stores rose by 4.3 per cent over the past year, compared with 3.1 per cent for nonfood items. A confluence of pressures is creating a perfect storm for further rapid price hikes.
VANCOUVER — A national plan to absorb Canada’s unsold condos is unfolding in two very different shapes — one already called a bailout by some analysts but drawing little of the outrage, the other announced last week by Mark Carney and instantly setting the public on fire. Two cities, more than 4,400 unsold condos held on the books of wealthy private companies, both outcomes hard to predict — but Vancouver’s is already being cast by critics as a handout to well-connected Liberal insiders.
This is, first, a national story.
This sounds like weasel words … Carney admits he did poor job rolling out $1.45 billion B.C. program panned as ‘condo bailout’
It’s been a year since Prime Minister Mark Carney said the cost of living was a key priority for his Liberal government — and every month since food prices have gone through the roof.
The Liberals will put the blame on Ukraine, or Donald Trump or tariffs or climate change or just about anything, but what they won’t do is accept responsibility for a crisis that they most certainly have control over.
Last Thursday, Prime Minister Mark Carney stood alongside B.C. Premier David Eby in Vancouver, and made a major announcement: the federal and B.C. provincial governments would step in to absorb thousands of vacant condominium units and repurpose them as affordable housing for Canadians. It was, his government declared in the press release, “one of the fastest and most efficient ways to increase housing supply.”
Canadians often wonder why food costs so much. Many economists are quick to blame U.S. President Donald Trump, climate change, global supply chains, exchange rates, or other external forces. These are convenient explanations and, in some cases, legitimate ones. But while these factors matter, many of the reasons behind Canada’s persistent food affordability problem are far less visible. Some are buried deep within regulatory and administrative processes that rarely attract public attention.
Davelle Morrison listed her client’s 650-square-foot condo in downtown Toronto’s Corktown neighbourhood for $558,000 at the beginning of March 2026 — then reduced the price by $38,000 in a hopeful effort to get more bites. When the bites didn’t materialize, Morrison relisted the property for $399,000 on May 4 with an offer night slated for a week later.
Not that long ago, such a price point and sales strategy would have guaranteed a frenzy of activity.
Vancouver’s shoe box builders just got bailed by Carney.
I wonder if his ChiCom pals can convince him to do the same for Toronto?
B.C. is facing a glut of empty condos. Thousands of Metro Vancouver units are sitting empty and some developers are facing insolvency.
Now, some housing experts are questioning a plan by the federal and provincial governments to buy some of those vacant units and turn them into affordable housing.
They say it amounts to a multi-billion dollar bail out for developers who refuse to lower prices to reflect a sluggish real estate market.
This smells very bad.
For years, Canadians have been told that food inflation is driven by weather, labour shortages, transportation costs, global conflicts, exchange rates, and climate events. All of those factors matter. But there is another contributor to rising food prices that rarely receives public attention: the way some grocery promotions are funded.
Ottawa is once again examining whether a lack of competition across Canada’s food supply chain is contributing to persistently high food prices. The Competition Bureau has launched a comprehensive review stretching from farm inputs to grocery store shelves, with a report expected in 2027. The review is long overdue, but Canadians should temper their expectations. Competition matters, but it is only one piece of a much larger affordability puzzle.
