TagCanada

Our Leaders Are Rolling Up Their Sleeves… To Wave the White Flag

Another week, another series of baffling decisions from Ottawa that leave you wondering what reality our leaders are living in. On September 17th, the Bank of Canada, in a move that surprised no one paying attention to our sputtering economy, chopped its overnight rate by another quarter-point. While this offers a sliver of relief for those of us with variable-rate debt, it’s a glaring admission that the economic engine is stalling.

But the real headline came a few days later, on September 23rd, when Governor Tiff Macklem delivered a speech titled, “Time to Roll up our sleeves.” You’d think that would be a call to action, a rallying cry for Canadian industry. Instead, it felt more like a blueprint for surrender.

A DANGEROUS PIVOT FROM OUR GREATEST ALLY

Governor Macklem’s big idea? After 15 years of dithering, he’s decided Canada has relied too much on the United States. His solution is to now, finally, forge “stronger trade relations” with Europe and, get this, China.

Posted June 13, 2025 Interest rates

Ask the Expert: Can the new Liberal housing plan solve Canada’s housing crisis?

Recently, Prime Minister Mark Carney and the Liberal party unveiled Building Canada Strong, a new ambitious housing plan to accelerate residential construction with the goal of building 500,000 homes a year.

Their most notable policies include cutting development fees for new construction, having the government play the role of developer to build and manage affordable housing across Canada (the Build Canada Homes Plan), and to eliminate the Goods and Services Tax (GST) for first time homeowners purchasing homes under $1 million.

This plan comes at an uncertain time — Canadians are contending with high unemployment, stagnating real estate markets in our biggest cities, and an ongoing affordability crisis. Our mortgage expert weighs in on the new Liberal plan and where he thinks mortgage rates are heading in the near future.

What are your thoughts on the Building Canada Strong plan?

Do you think it goes far enough to solve the housing crisis? Anything you think they could do differently?

After a rollercoaster election and one of the biggest surprise turnarounds in history, we have a new minority government in Canada for the next four years led by Prime Minister Mark Carney. Love him or hate him, we should all wish the new leader all the best. His success will translate into our success.

Being Canadian means supporting your country and that means supporting and respecting your government. It’s okay to criticize when appropriate and necessary. We all do it. But in order … Continue Reading…

I hope you will enjoy this article and if you have any questions or would like to discuss I am always available.

Your best interest is my only interest. I reply to all questions and I welcome your comments. Like this article? Share with a friend.

Steve Garganis: 416-224-0114; steve@canadamortgagenews.

Posted January 30, 20241 Comment Finance

Population Crisis Part 1: The Bad News

Well, it’s safe to say that our federal government has officially lost the plot. Immigration numbers have exploded, and Trudeau has done absolutely nothing to prepare for the mass amounts of newcomers flowing in. Pre-Trudeau, we were receiving on average 200,000 immigrants per year. Under Trudeau, that number ramped up to 400,000, then 500,000, then 1,200,000.

Posted August 28, 2018 Mortgage News

Looser Mortgage Standards Hit the UK! Is Canada Next?!

There’s nothing surprising about the loosening of mortgage standards to spur growth. In the last real housing bubble of 1990, banks and government brought in stricter lending rules, making it tougher for borrowers to get a mortgage.

Fast forward to the present. We’ve yet to see a housing bubble or market crash, but the government has taken drastic – perhaps even unheard of – precautions to slow the housing market.

In 1990, I was working for the largest trust company in Canada. I can tell you that it has never been harder to qualify for a mortgage than it is today!

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