“Homelessness & Affordability Crisis” – Page 7

CHARLEBOIS: Why the most important food prices are rising again

Food inflation in Canada may have eased to 4.0% in March, but don’t be misled by the headline. The number that matters most — food purchased from stores— actually rose to 4.4%, up 0.3 percentage points. That increase tells us something important: cost pressures are not fading. In fact, they are shifting — and intensifying in key categories.

Look at what’s driving the change. Meat and vegetables are both rising, and for very different reasons. But together, they paint a clear picture of a food system still under strain.

by Blazingcatfur•April 22, 2026April 21, 2026•0•"Homelessness & Affordability Crisis"

Nearly 80% of Canadians say cost-of-living outpaces their income: poll

OTTAWA — Despite saying they earn a decent salary, more than half of working Canadians say they’re having trouble making ends meet.

That’s according to a new survey commissioned by H&R Block that paints a bleak picture of Canada’s ongoing affordability crisis, with those in Atlantic Canada reportedly the most concerned.

U of T economist, Josef Steinberg responds: "I get that this elbows-up crap plays well politically within Canada, but as Kevin A. Bryan, Chief Economist, CDL Toronto states, it's "economic malpractice." Our physical proximity to the US isn't a weakness—it's one of our most… https://t.co/aocwHjxdxs

— MikesMoneyTalks.ca (@moneytalkstweet) April 21, 2026

by Blazingcatfur•April 21, 2026April 21, 2026•0•"Homelessness & Affordability Crisis", Canada's Corrupt Liberal Government

Mark Carney’s fuel tax cut in effect — what can you expect?

Canada’s fuel excise tax is now frozen until September.

It sounds promising, especially when you see the signs at gas stations, but what does it mean for Canadians right now?

by Blazingcatfur•April 21, 2026April 21, 2026•0•"Homelessness & Affordability Crisis", Canada's Corrupt Liberal Government

Punishing young Canadians for leaving doesn’t solve the problem

Earlier this month, during a panel discussion on the Canadian economy at the Liberal Party convention in Montreal, former Google CFO Patrick Pichette suggested that the government should restrict the ability of young Canadians to work in the United States, because Canadian taxes had funded their education. A clip of these remarks went viral, and for good reason: as Shopify founder Tobi Lütke said in response, “making Canada a cage” is not the right strategy to build a strong economy.

by Blazingcatfur•April 21, 2026April 20, 2026•0•"Homelessness & Affordability Crisis", Canada's Corrupt Liberal Government, USA

Canada’s Meat Scales Are Off—And So Is Oversight

Once again, it took the media to remind us that food fraud is not a relic of the past—it is very much a present-day risk embedded in our food system. After the maple syrup scandal, CBC News has uncovered yet another troubling issue: inaccurate scales at the meat counter. This is not anecdotal noise. It is a structural concern. When consumers pay for more than they actually receive, the consequence is not just irritation—it is a silent erosion of trust in one of the most expensive categories in the grocery store.

by Blazingcatfur•April 18, 2026April 18, 2026•0•"Homelessness & Affordability Crisis"

CHARLEBOIS: Disappearing middle distorting Canada’s food economy

Canada doesn’t just have a food inflation problem, it has a market structure problem – and it’s getting worse.

Over the last two years, we’ve been fixated on prices: why groceries cost more, why inflation remains stubborn, and why relief hasn’t materialized for many households. But we are missing the bigger issue. Canada’s economy is becoming increasingly K-shaped, and that is quietly undermining both affordability and innovation in our food system.

by Blazingcatfur•April 15, 2026April 15, 2026•0•"Homelessness & Affordability Crisis"

Gap between richest and poorest Canadians widened again in 2025, StatsCan says

The gap between Canada’s richest and poorest grew last year as financial markets gained, interest payouts declined and the job market softened, said Statistics Canada on Monday.

The agency says the income gap — measuring the difference in the share of disposable income between households in the top 40 per cent and those in the bottom 40 per cent — reached 46.7 percentage points in 2025.

by Blazingcatfur•April 14, 2026April 13, 2026•0•"Homelessness & Affordability Crisis", Canada's Corrupt Liberal Government

How the housing crisis damaged Canada’s economy and productivity

For years, Canada’s housing crisis and its productivity slump have been treated as parallel emergencies. One was a matter of affordability and social equity, the other a question of economic competitiveness.

However a growing body of research, and a pair of Canadian experts who have spent years studying both, say that framing has always been wrong. They insist the country is paying a steep price for keeping the two conversations apart.

Researchers from Harvard’s Growth Lab contend Canada’s restrictive urban zoning is short-circuiting the normal mechanism by which productivity gains in major cities become national prosperity.

Alternate link

by Blazingcatfur•April 13, 2026April 12, 2026•0•"Canada in decline", "Homelessness & Affordability Crisis", Canada's Corrupt Liberal Government

More than 84,000 Ontario houses — roughly the number in Markham — are owned by businesses and for-profits. StatsCan wants to find out more

More than 84,300 houses across Ontario — around the number you’d find in a mid-sized city like Markham — were owned as investments by businesses or for-profit government entities such as public-sector pension funds in 2023, according to data from the Canadian Housing Statistics Program.

This data, released in recent months, offers a glimpse at where, and how acutely, businesses of all types have invested in Canadian single-family housing stock.

by Blazingcatfur•April 9, 2026April 9, 2026•0•"Homelessness & Affordability Crisis", Canada

CHARLEBOIS: Why a ceasefire won’t cool your grocery bill

When news broke that the Donald Trump administration and Iran had agreed to a two-week ceasefire, markets reacted instantly. Oil prices plunged within minutes, wiping out days of gains and triggering a wave of optimism. For many consumers, the assumption seemed obvious: lower oil prices should mean lower food prices.

That assumption is fundamentally flawed.

by Blazingcatfur•April 9, 2026April 8, 2026•0•"Homelessness & Affordability Crisis", Canada's Corrupt Liberal Government

Federal government polled Canadians on housing slogans as shortage worsened

CALGARY — Cabinet turned to marketing experts and focus groups to test slogans and logos as Canada’s housing shortage worsened, according to internal records that raise fresh questions about priorities in addressing affordability.

According to Blacklock’s Reporter, the Privy Council Office commissioned nationwide focus groups to gauge which branding concepts would best convince Canadians the government had a plan to fix the crisis.

I bet “Blame it on Trump” was touted as a favourite to win.

by Blazingcatfur•April 8, 2026April 7, 2026•0•"Homelessness & Affordability Crisis", Canada's Corrupt Liberal Government

House prices dropping in Canada’s most expensive cities, but still out of reach for many

Housing prices are dipping in Canada’s priciest markets, but real estate experts say it’s not necessarily the break for which potential first-time homebuyers have been waiting — and that break may never come.

TD Economics said in a report last week that it expects home prices to slide 0.3 per cent across Canada this year, after a weak performance in the market over the last two quarters, with Ontario and B.C. facing the biggest drops.

by Blazingcatfur•April 7, 2026April 7, 2026•0•"Homelessness & Affordability Crisis", Canada's Corrupt Liberal Government

Older Canadian women face tough choices about the life they can afford. That’s why Susan, 76, has lived in her car

Sometimes, living in a car is the only way a lady can survive.

At the age of 76, Susan Patricia Staples is a veteran of vehicle residency, as it is called, the act of sleeping in a car with no address except the next Walmart parking lot. She did it for nine impoverished months a few years ago, and if car life sounds like part of her past, it isn’t. Sleeping in her vehicle is the only way she can afford to leave her tiny apartment and visit friends in faraway locales, staying connected to the world.

by Blazingcatfur•April 6, 2026April 5, 2026•0•"Homelessness & Affordability Crisis", Canada's Corrupt Liberal Government

Canadians losing faith in Ottawa’s housing plan as crisis deepens

CALGARY — Few Canadians believe Ottawa is getting housing right, with many saying relief is years away despite repeated federal claims of progress, according to internal research obtained by Blacklock’s Reporter.

Privy Council Office focus groups found widespread skepticism that Housing Minister Gregor Robertson is making meaningful headway on affordability, with participants overwhelmingly concluding the government is either on the wrong track or failing to show results.

by Blazingcatfur•April 5, 2026April 4, 2026•0•"Homelessness & Affordability Crisis", Canada's Corrupt Liberal Government

Minimum wage increase is not enough for life in Toronto, agency says

Ontario minimum wage workers are getting a cost of living boost that will bring their earnings to $17.95 an hour next October but that won’t pay bills in Toronto, says the Ontario Living Wage Network.

While an increase is appreciated, most workers earning basic wages in Toronto region need another $9.25 to reach the $27.20 living wage required for survival, said the network’s spokesperson Craig Pickthorne.

by Blazingcatfur•April 1, 2026April 1, 2026•0•"Homelessness & Affordability Crisis", "Toronto - Canada's version of a Democrat run city"