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Canadian spots rank among top 100 best cities in the world
Several Canadian cities have been named among the best in the world, according to a new ranking. Resonance Consultancy and Ipsos Research’s list of the World’s Best Cities in 2025 has been released, ranking the top 100 global cities “shaping tomorrow.” The report looked at cities with over a million people, combining stats and user-generated data from platforms like Google, Tripadvisor, and Instagram. The ranking considers various factors, including affordability, education, and overall quality of life. Three Canadian cities cracked the top 50, with Toronto ranking the highest in 15th place. Ontario’s capital placed high for its tree cover, or the measure of an urban area’s land that’s covered with vegetation that’s at least 16 feet in height, and educational attainment. “The construction boom has reshaped downtown, from revitalized cultural landmarks like Massey Hall to the new Renzo Piano-designed Ontario Court of Justice,” reads the report. “The addition of Love Park, with its heart-shaped pond, adds greenery to the city’s core.” It also highlighted the upcoming Rogers Stadium, which will be the city’s largest outdoor concert venue, and the construction of Villiers Island, which is part of the Port Lands Flood Protection Project. Following closely behind is Vancouver in 22nd place. It also stood out for its tree cover and educational attainment. The reason for Vancouver’s ranking is based on a few factors. According to the list, “a panorama of ancient forests, totem poles, pan-Asian diaspora, and hockey-loving hipsters makes Vancouver a coveted destination.” The cons include an apparent lack of space in hotels and the ongoing ban on short-term rentals. “In the midst of rising real estate prices, the city is facing another challenge: fewer hotel rooms — a direct result of the government converting hundreds of rooms into social housing during the pandemic and cracking down on Airbnb-only rentals (ostensibly to free up rental housing).” The validity of that statement is highly debatable. City officials have been concerned about the hotel crunch for a long time, well before the pandemic. Rounding out the top 50 is Montreal in 35th place, getting accolades for its educational attainment and its low poverty rate. Resonance described it as Canada’s “laid-back second city (and North America’s most European).” Canada’s capital city Ottawa just missed the top 50, placing 52nd for its tree cover and educational attainment. “The cosmopolitan capital of Canada has a reputation for brainpower that’s attracting the world,” reads the report. Other major Canadian cities that made the list are Calgary in 54th place and Edmonton in 65th place. Do you agree with these rankings? Let us know in the comments. With files from Claire Fenton and Allison Stephen
Business | Immigration | Local | Local Business | Local News | North
Immigration cuts will help housing gap
OTTAWA — The federal government is overestimating the impact its cuts to immigration will have on the country’s housing shortage, the Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer said in a new report. OTTAWA — The federal government is overestimating the impact its cuts to immigration will have on the country’s housing shortage, the Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer said in a new report. In the analysis published Friday, the PBO said its projections still indicate the country’s housing gap should fall by 45 per cent, assuming the Liberal government’s own population projections in its immigration plan are accurate. The PBO isn’t entirely convinced they are, saying “we judge that there is significant risk” to the demographic projections the government made in its 2025-27 immigration levels plan. The PBO cautioned its model assumed some non-permanent residents, whose permits or visas would expire and not be renewed under the new plan, will actually leave the country. “Both our estimated reduction in household formation and the housing gap under the (immigration levels plan) are uncertain and likely represent upper-bound estimates,” the PBO warned. In October, the Liberal government announced it was cutting the number of permanent residents allowed into the country over the next three years. The plan expects to see Canada’s population decline by 0.2 per cent in 2025 and 2026, marking the first time Canada would see an annual decline in population, the PBO said. The PBO now estimates Canada needs to build another 1.2 million homes by 2030 to close the housing gap. In its report Friday morning, the PBO said the revised immigration plan will reduce that gap by 534,000 units — or 45 per cent — by 2030. The government’s projections, factoring in its new immigration targets, suggested the population estimates would reduce demand for housing by 670,000 units by 2027, well above the PBO’s estimates and three years earlier than the PBO’s timeline. “This difference likely reflects several factors, such as the assumed age, region and household structure of the (non-permanent resident) outflows projected under the (immigration levels plan), as well as the time horizon and counterfactual population projection,” the PBO wrote. In a statement, Immigration Minister Marc Miller’s office said the PBO report confirms the government’s immigration levels plan will reduce the housing supply gap, and that the report’s projections are in line with the department’s own expectations regarding the housing supply gap for this year. “While an adjustment in immigration levels is helping to reduce the strain on our housing supply, it is also true that immigration and newcomers to Canada will continue to have an important role to play in helping us grow the housing supply,” Miller’s office said. “Immigrants are not to blame for the housing crisis and they, like everyone who lives in Canada whether temporarily or permanently, deserve to be set up for success while they are.” This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 15, 2024. Nick Murray, The Canadian Press
Developer reimagines Capilano Mall with 3,100 homes, 40 storey towers, and new park
Developer reimagines Capilano Mall with 3,100 homes, 40 storey towers, and new park There will be 11 towers in total and the range of tower heights will vary between 12 and 40 storeys. A massive new redevelopment is planned on North Shore as Capilano Mall is reimagined with more than 3,000 housing units in eleven…
Condos | Development | homes | new homes | Real Estate
Over 900 homes in towers up to 39 storeys for Downtown Eastside
This three-tower project could fulfill roughly 10% of the Government of British Columbia’s total target of catalyzing affordable homes for middle-income households through the new BC Builds program. In the process, it would also revitalize the easternmost end of Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, bringing new life to an area specifically named the East Village. The significant project would be the first of a number of major housing redevelopments envisioned for this segment of East Hastings Street towards Commercial Drive. The three properties for this particular project are located on an approximate one-city block stretch of East Hastings Street between Glen Drive and Vernon Drive. Tower 1 will be a 373-ft-tall, 38-storey building at 1030-1070 East Hastings Street, which is a vacant site immediately adjacent to the CN railway at the southwest corner of the intersection of Glen Drive and East Hastings Street. This site is the westernmost site of the three properties. Tower 1 will contain 382 secured purpose-built market rental homes, with a unit size mix of 135 studio units, 141 one-bedroom units, 93 two-bedroom units, and 13 three-bedroom units. Nearly 5,000 sq ft of retail/restaurant space will activate the building’s East Hastings Street frontage, and three live/work units will front Glen Drive. Three sites for the East Village on East Hastings Street in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. (ZGF Architects/Westbank/Promerita/BC Housing) Three sites for the East Village on East Hastings Street in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. (ZGF Architects/Westbank/Promerita/BC Housing) Concept for the East Village on East Hastings Street in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. (ZGF Architects/Westbank/Promerita/BC Housing) Tower 2 will be just around the corner from Tower 1. It will be located at 1115-1127 East Hastings Street, which is the northeast corner of the intersection of Glen Drive and East Hastings Street. Old, low-storey commercial buildings currently occupy this site. Tower 2 is envisioned as the tallest and largest of the three towers, at 390 feet and 39 storeys. Tower 2 will contain 383 secured purpose-built market rental homes, with a unit size mix of 165 studio units, 123 one-bedroom units, 77 two-bedroom units, and 20 three-bedroom units. There will also be nearly 8,000 sq ft of retail/restaurant space, primarily at ground level, to activate the building’s frontages with East Hastings Street and Glen Drive. Tower 1; Concept for the East Village on East Hastings Street in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. (ZGF Architects/Westbank/Promerita/BC Housing) Tower 2; Concept for the East Village on East Hastings Street in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. (ZGF Architects/Westbank/Promerita/BC Housing) Tower 2 (left) and Tower 1 (right); Concept for the East Village on East Hastings Street in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. (ZGF Architects/Westbank/Promerita/BC Housing) While Tower 1 and Tower 2 are highly similar in uses and size, Tower 3 will be markedly different, with a shorter height of 195 ft and 19 storeys. Tower 3’s site of 1168-1180 East Hastings Street is the easternmost parcel of the three-site project, situated immediately east of Pink Peal Chinese Restaurant. Two low-storey structures currently occupy the site, including the 1905-built, three-storey Vernon Apartments SRO with 36 units. Tower 3 will contain 157 social housing units dedicated to seniors, with a unit size mix of 42 studio units, 79 one-bedroom units, and 36 larger one-for-one replacement SRO studio units. There will be higher levels of affordability with these homes rented at shelter, Housing Income Limits, and Low-and-Moderate Income Limit rates. There will also be a 2,300 sq ft social enterprise space fronting East Hastings Street. Tower 3; Concept for the East Village on East Hastings Street in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. (ZGF Architects/Westbank/Promerita/BC Housing) Tower 3; Concept for the East Village on East Hastings Street in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. (ZGF Architects/Westbank/Promerita/BC Housing) All three towers will feature a combined total of 924 homes, including 767 secured purpose-built market rental homes for middle-income households in Tower 1 and Tower 2 and 157 units of social housing for seniors, which is purposefully equivalent to over 20% of the project’s market rental homes as a public benefit. Overall, about 80% of the homes across all three buildings will be considered affordable for households with incomes below $80,000. These three towers in the East Village are a joint partnership between local developer Westbank, local investment firm Promerita, and the provincial government through BC Housing. Westbank and Promerita will own and operate Tower 1 and Tower 2, and they have already transferred ownership of the Tower 3 social housing site to BC Housing for a nominal fee. Westbank will be the lead developer responsible for the rezoning, development, and construction process of all three towers. ZGF Architects is the project’s design firm. Each tower represents a different rezoning application, but they will be considered together. All three applications have been submitted, and the review process is now set to enter formal public consultation. “BC Housing, through BC Builds, is very interested in participating in the proposed creation of new rental housing at the East Village with Promerita, Westbank, and a future non-profit operator, however, BC Housing’s final participation is further contingent on City Council rezoning approval as well as settlement of the final negotiated business terms amongst the parties,” reads a letter of support written to the City by Mike Pistrin, the vice president of development and asset strategies for BC Housing. “One of these milestones have been achieved and BC Housing has certainty regarding the inclusion of affordable rental units being approved, final project approval by our executive committee and associated boards will
How to Buy a House in British Columbia 2024
Proposed Anti-Flipping Tax On April 7th, 2022, the federal budget plan proposed a new anti-flipping tax. The tax is imposed on people who own real estate for less than a year. You may lose your Principal Residence Exemption if you buy a primary residence and move for non-exempt reasons. Additionally, if you sell an investment…
B.C. sets up a panel on bear deaths, will review conservation officer training
Posted September 9, 2024 3:13 pm. Last Updated September 9, 2024 7:37 pm. The British Columbia government is partnering with a bear welfare group to reduce the number of bears being euthanized in the province. Nicholas Scapillati, executive director of Grizzly Bear Foundation, said Monday that it comes after months-long discussions with the province on how to protect bears, with the goal to give the animals a “better and second chance at life in the wild.” Scapillati said what’s exciting about the project is that the government is open to working with outside experts and the public. “So, they’ll be working through Indigenous knowledge and scientific understanding, bringing in the latest techniques and training expertise from leading experts,” he said in an interview. He tells 1130 NewsRadio that this is a tremendous opportunity to advance the well-being and stewardship of bears in B.C. “It takes essential staff in addressing the calls that First Nations have made, conservation organizations and the public to address the number of bear deaths in their communities, enhance the care and handling of bears when they are (in) adverse conditions or relocated, and to deepen the public understanding of how we can support coexistence with bears,” he said. B.C. government data show conservation officers destroyed 603 black bears and 23 grizzly bears in 2023, while 154 black bears were killed by officers in the first six months of this year. Scapillati said the group will publish a report with recommendations by next spring, while an independent oversight committee will be set up to review all bear encounters with conservation officers to provide advice to the government. “We’ll be looking to bring together the bear rehab people, hunters, conservation organizations, first nations that are working with the COS,” he told 1130 NewsRadio. “We’re also going to lean on some of the World Meeting experts, not only from here, British Columbia, but across Canada, the United States, to give us advice on how we can advance our care and handling better policies and procedures, training…to improve the COS and hopefully reduce their deaths and improve the welfare of bears when they’re being handled right.” Environment Minister George Heyman said in a statement that they are looking for new ways to ensure conservation officers “have the trust of the communities they serve,” and the panel will make recommendations to enhance officer training and improve policies. Lesley Fox, with the wildlife protection group The Fur-Bearers, said they’ve been calling for such a committee for decades. “This move demonstrates the government is listening,” said Fox. “I suspect, because of the impending election, their listening skills are potentially a little sharper than they normally are.” Fox said the partnership came from “a place of long frustration” as provincial conservation officers kill more than 500 black bears every year on average, and the public is “no longer tolerating this kind of approach.” “I think that the conservation officer service and the B.C. government are aware they need to change, and certainly the public has been asking for it,” said Fox. Fox said there’s a lot of optimism about the new partnership, but, as with any government, there will likely be a lot of red tape to get through. “I think speed is going to be important, whether or not the committee has the ability to make change and make change relatively quickly without having to study an issue to death, ” said Fox.