Featured
Reversing Course on Immigration
The era of explosive population growth has come to an end. The federal government has released updated immigration planning targets that point to a net outflow of newcomers over the next two years. Rapid population growth has been linked to an unaffordable housing market, concerns about social services and infrastructure capacity, and slack in the…
Read more
Flood Reinsurance: Wading into the Deep End
In Budget 2023, the government unveiled plans for a national flood reinsurance program and a separate insurance subsidy for high-risk households. Budget 2024 expanded on this by proposing a Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) subsidiary to deliver the flood reinsurance program, but the announcement was light on both details and funding. Budget 2024 proposes…
Read more
Beware the Bond Vigilantes
In the early part of my career, I worked in government debt management, initially focusing on forecasting federal deficits and debt, and then later financing it through treasury bill and domestic and foreign debt issuance. This was during a period where inflation was rampant, and government spending was largely unchecked. The current fiscal situation in…
Read more
Overcoming Inertia in the Housing Finance System
Government institutions operate under the assumption of permanence, leading to a deep-seated resistance to change. Below, we highlight areas where simple action by the federal government could improve our housing finance system and improve affordability. Canada Mortgage Bond (CMB) Repo Facility When the federal government announced its intention to buy $30 billion—half the issuance of…
Read more
The Case for a 50 Basis Point Cut by the Bank of Canada
In a recent CIBC podcast, Paul Beaudry, the former deputy governor of the Bank of Canada, advocated for a half-percentage point cut to the overnight rate later this month. He argued that “when you want to turn things around, you want to get the confidence going.” Policy action of this scale could significantly boost confidence…
Read more
Encouraging More Secondary Suites – How Hard Could it Be?
To achieve the federal government’s housing targets, a major increase in housing construction is essential. Since most projects take up to seven years to complete, progress has been slow, leaving the government struggling to show any measurable signs of progress on increasing the housing stock. One of the goals of the Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF)…
Read more
Strong Jobs Number Signals Slower Pace of Fed Easing
The September jobs report revealed stronger-than-expected job gains of 254,000, quelling fears of a sharp labor market slowdown. This figure easily surpassed all analysts’ forecasts on Bloomberg and beat the consensus estimate by over 100,000 jobs. In addition, upward revisions added 72,000 jobs to the previous two months, while the unemployment rate ticked down to…
Read more
Contact Us
Contact us today to set up an appointment.