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1. Job Creation and Housing Starts in Canada’s Largest Metropolitan Areas

   Canada’s economy has generated millions of new jobs over the last two decades, with the total number of employed people nationwide growing by 4.1 million between 2001 and 2019 (a 27.6% increase). Though growth in employment is unambiguously positive, it ...

2. U.S. cities increase affordability while housing costs rise in Canada’s major centres

   In some Canadian cities, housing costs grew more than 50 per cent faster than incomes. ...

3. Changes in the Affordability of Housing in Canadian and American Cities, 2006–2016

   By bringing together workers, capital, businesses, and ideas in a compact geographic market, cities promote improved productivity performance, and thereby faster economic growth and higher real incomes for workers. The affordability of housing in a city ...

4. Tax discrepancies hurt renters in major Canadian cities

   Appeared in the Toronto Sun, May 6, 2020 The COVID pandemic has impacted virtually every aspect of the Canadian economy, including the ability of renters to pay rent. The situation underscores a longstanding, yet little known, issue—the disproportionate ...

5. Perverse incentives may help erode housing affordability

   Rising incomes and low interest rates have generated tremendous demand for housing across the country. ...

6. Calgary making tough tax decisions other cities aren’t

   Before the spread of COVID-19, Calgary was already struggling with another kind of acute problem—a municipal budget crisis. The energy industry’s half-decade-long downturn has led to soaring commercial space vacancies in the downtown core ...

7. Lessons on land-use regulations from the 2008-09 recession

   Appeared in the Toronto Sun, April 8, 2020 Canadians have become accustomed to robust home-price appreciation in recent years, notably in southern regions of Ontario and British Columbia. Things look far less certain these days, thanks largely to the ...

8. Queen’s Park postponing property tax reform today could hurt businesses tomorrow

   Many small businesses have undoubtedly been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. Many must shut their doors for an undetermined period of time, while others have made the difficult decision to lay off staff. All three levels of government ...

9. Two proposed projects—one in Ontario, one in B.C.—throw renters a lifeline

   In the greater Toronto and Vancouver areas, rents keep rising and rental vacancies remain low. ...

10. Most effective pro-housing reforms have nothing to do with more government spending

    According to a recent poll of British Columbia parents, 65 per cent of respondents believe it’s likely their child or children will have to move away from their home municipality due to the high cost of living. Of course, B.C.’s sky-high ...