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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. Perverse incentives may help erode housing affordability

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

3. 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 ...

4. 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. ...

5. Property tax rates in Calgary and Edmonton much higher for businesses than residents

   Appeared in the Calgary Sun, November 21, 2019 In recent years, Calgary has learned the hard way about relying too heavily on the commercial property tax base to fund local services. Due to the significant drop in downtown commercial real estate values, ...

6. Help Toronto taxpayers—toll the roads

   Appeared in the Toronto Sun, August 14, 2019 Toronto’s municipally-owned highways are known for heavy congestion. So much so that the Don Valley Parkway is frequently referred to as the Don Valley Parking Lot, costing the region between $6 billion and $11 ...

7. After three years of squeezing demand, governments should target housing supply

   Appeared in the Globe and Mail, July 30, 2019 Three years ago this month, the British Columbia government dramatically increased the property transfer tax rate paid by foreign nationals and corporations purchasing residential real estate in Metro ...

8. Calgary’s overreliance on business tax revenue forces city hall’s hand

   In 2018, Calgary’s non-residential tax rates were almost four times higher than residential rates. ...

9. Alberta should not enable corporate welfare

   Alberta’s United Conservative Party made economic growth a major issue in its recent successful election campaign. Some of its proposed measures—reducing the corporate income tax rate, for example—should help jolt the province’s economy. ...

10. Edmonton should eliminate minimum parking requirements—other cities should follow suit

    Mandating parking can leave less room for housing. ...