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Tuesday, September 30, 2025

Canadian households squeezed amid rising mortgage costs

By
Neil Sharma
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Source: Flickr

Mortgage costs have surged by 29.9% as more borrowers renew, according to Statistics Canada’s latest consumer price index.

Mortgage interest drove inflation to 3.4% last month which would have been 2.5% if it were excluded.

According to Daniel Johanis, owner of Pekoe Mortgages, there’s no relief in sight as mortgage rates are slated to remain elevated until around 2026. Although fixed-rate mortgage holders have been shielded from rising mortgage rates, unlike variable-rate holders, their renewal rates will be significantly higher at the conclusion of their current terms.

“Mortgage rates were at 2% and now they’re higher at 5-6%, and borrowers have to make an adjustment, but it’s being compounded by other things if we look at the cost of living, which has gone up in every possible way,” Johanis told True North.

“Some people anticipate it will be even more difficult in the coming years, so they’re redoing their fixed-rate mortgages now. By doing early renewals, because they’re stress tested at 2% over the contract rate, now’s a better bet to qualify them on a five-year fixed because it’s the lowest mortgage product out there at the moment.”

The Bank of Canada (BoC) has been increasing its Overnight Lending Rate since March 2022 in an effort to bring inflation down to its 2% target, but as BoC governor Tiff Macklem explained in May, it will continue putting pressure on Canadian households.

“We expect it will hit 3% this summer. We are encouraged by this progress but we expect getting inflation from 3% to 2% is going to be more difficult,” he said. “Our current projection only has that happening by the end of 2024.”

Johanis says the BoC’s pandemic policy of quantitative easing, which resulted in an overnight rate of 0.25% for roughly a year and a half, created a false perception that ultra-low interest rates were the rule rather than the exception and people went on shopping sprees for homes.

Macklem has also admitted that the Liberal government’s massive stimulus spending programs during the Covid-19 pandemic went on too long and contributed to inflation. 

But now that interest rates are going back up, Canadians’ monthly mortgage payments are increasing significantly and putting strain on household budgets. That will only get worse as two-thirds of mortgages in Canada are due for renewal in the next couple of years.

A consequence of the rising interest rate environment is borrowers risk defaulting on their mortgage payments. Johanis noted that the rate of mortgage defaults is historically low in Canada, but he anticipates investors will have a hard time.

If Airbnb’s declining revenues are any indicator, it has already begun, especially since short-term rentals yield higher returns on investment than putting units in the long-term rental pool.

But it’s aspiring first-time homebuyers, who have struggled for years to get a foothold in the property market, who will have the most difficulty going forward, says Johanis.

“I’ve seen more people purchase homes as two or three friends together who were roommates and got help from the bank of mom and dad to help out with the down payments,” he said. “I’ve already done five of these mortgages and it’s only six months into this year. That’s already more than I’ve ever done before.”

OP-ED: One Flew Over the Kangaroo Court: My Fight Against Human Rights Tyranny

By
Gleb Lisikh
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This is personal, and I allow myself to be slightly emotional here, unlike when I write on professional matters. If my readers sense any sarcasm, satire or disrespect toward government institutions or their individual representatives, however, they probably underestimate the editorial effort that went into toning down this article.

It all started as a kneejerk reaction to the time my son wasted applying for a Java Programming course offered to high school students over the summer of 2021. My son was in grade 10 at Maple High School in Vaughan, Ontario (just northwest of Toronto) and learned about this offer in a letter from the school. While it wasn’t obvious from the letter, which pointed students to a website, the application process eventually requested that he confirm his “blackness” or…forget about it.

The Java course was part of the “SummerUp” program, offering high school students free courses ranging from computer programming to photography and filmmaking, all funded by Ontario’s Ministry of Education (in other words, by all of us colourless taxpayers). According to the website, it is meant to “connect historically excluded Black students with the skills, confidence, and opportunities they need to thrive and find personal and academic success.” This would thereby “close the ‘opportunity gap’ so often experienced by Black students.” That the program does so by means of racial discrimination against all others, and is blatantly segregationist, struck me as curious. I also felt sorry for my son – not because of the pity programming course, but because he was upset about the obvious lack of equality at work.

I called the school to ask a straight question: was my son automatically disqualified due to his non-blackness? In a phone conversation filled with verbal acrobatics, the school principal finally said, “Yes,” but refused to confirm this answer in writing. I sent an email directly to Stephen Lecce, Ontario’s Minister of Education, with copy to my federal (Liberal) MP, Francesco Sorbara, demanding a meaningful explanation, to no avail. I then launched a petition objecting to the discrimination, but that didn’t exactly catch fire either.

And so began an absurd and eye-opening odyssey through Ontario’s human rights machinery. It turns out that Canadian institutions, governments and companies are allowed to discriminate against some people provided it’s in the name of reducing or eliminating disadvantages for other groups. The Canadian Human Rights Commission calls such efforts (which in the U.S. were euphemistically dubbed “affirmative action”) “special programs.” This is why (to take just two of a disturbingly high number of examples) universities can offer STEM admissions to female students that are denied to males, or why VIA Rail can offer race-based discounts to Indigenous passengers.

SummerUp is not the most insidious example of such discrimination, but I thought it would be worth asking the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) if it was in fact sanctioned as a “special program” under Section 14 of the OHRC Code. The Commission’s response?

“Organizations do not need permission from the OHRC to develop a special program,” was the emailed reply from Paola Floro, an “Information Officer” with the Commission. “The Code allows for programs designed to help people who experience hardship, economic disadvantage, inequality or discrimination. The Code also protects these programs from attack by people who do not experience the same disadvantage [emphasis added].” The Commission said it encouraged such special programs “as effective ways to achieve substantive equality by helping reduce discrimination, or addressing historical prejudice.”

So the Government of Ontario does not insist upon prior approval of new discriminatory “special programs.” If a program is formally designated as “special,” then it is authorized to discriminate. And if a non-designated program discriminates, why then, that makes it special! This gives free reign to organizations, including school boards and ministries, to discriminate arbitrarily merely by applying the affirmative action concept. But how do they determine a particular group faces “hardship, economic disadvantage, inequality or discrimination”?

Read the full Op-Ed at C2CJournal.ca

YWCA campaign “demonizes men with false numbers” (ft. Janice Fiamengo)

By
True North Wire
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Former Vancouver Canucks captain Trevor Linden has joined a YWCA campaign on domestic violence, which claims female victims of intimate partner violence suffer traumatic brain injury at a much higher rate than professional hockey players. Writer and retired professor Janice Fiamengo of The Fiamengo File joined True North’s Andrew Lawton to point out the “false numbers and shameful misrepresentations” behind the campaign.

SUBSCRIBE TO THE ANDREW LAWTON SHOW

Cenovus invests $5 million in “energy hub” event centre in Lloydminster, Alberta

By
Cosmin Dzsurdzsa
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Lloydminster, Alberta is about to get a major new upgrade in the form of an event facility meant to boost the region’s cultural and sports scene thanks to one of Alberta’s largest oil and gas companies.

Cenovus Energy has pledged $5 million towards the Cenovus Energy Hub, which will cover part of the construction costs and support community programming for the next 15 years. 

The company says the investment reflects its long-standing support for Lloydminster and its residents, many of whom work for Cenovus.

“Investing in the communities where we operate is integral to how we do business,” said Jon McKenzie, Cenovus President & Chief Executive Officer. 

“More than 2,000 of our staff and their families live and play in this region, and our contribution to the Cenovus Energy Hub is a great way to connect them and their neighbours through recreational activities, cultural programming and landmark events and celebrations.”

According to the company, Cenovus Energy Hub will be a state-of-the-art facility that will host a variety of events, from concerts and festivals to sports tournaments and trade shows. 

It will also offer amenities such as a fitness centre, an indoor playground, a library and an art gallery. The facility aims to be the cornerstone of Lloydminster’s Event District, a planned area meant to revitalize the city’s downtown core.

The City of Lloydminster says the project will bring significant economic and social benefits to the region, attracting visitors and showcasing its potential on a national stage.

“I am thrilled to witness the collaboration between the City of Lloydminster and Cenovus as they join forces to support recreation and cultural opportunities for our community,” said Lloydminster Mayor Gerald Aalbers. 

“This partnership signifies the importance of strong relationships between local government and corporate entities. Cenovus’s support will undoubtedly enhance the quality of life for our residents and visitors.”

The project has also received funding from the federal and provincial governments, which announced a joint contribution of $33 million in April 2023. The total cost of the project is estimated at $75 million.

Construction of the Cenovus Energy Hub is expected to start later this year and be completed by winter 2025.

The announcement of the Cenovus Energy Hub comes at a time when Alberta’s oil sands sector is seeing renewed interest from investors. 

Earlier this month, ConocoPhillips Co., a Texas-based oil and gas company, announced a $4.4 billion deal to buy out its partner Total E&P Canada Ltd. in the Surmont oil sands project in Alberta.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith welcomed the deal as a sign of confidence in her government’s pro-business policy.

“As I mentioned on election night – Alberta is open for business! It’s great to see this recent $4.4 billion dollar ‘vote of confidence’ in our economy,” tweeted Smith earlier this month.

BONOKOSKI: Insolvencies are at the highest level since the start of the pandemic

By
Mark Bonokoski
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May is usually the quiet month when it comes to insolvencies but it is not trending that way anymore.

Instead, a “sharp” increase in insolvencies, May suggests that households are struggling more than ever with onerous debt and high interest rates.

Insolvencies, which include bankruptcies and proposals to renegotiate loans, rose 12.3% in May from April and are up 30.9%  from the same time last year, according to data from Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada.

They are now at their highest level since the start of the pandemic, with proposal numbers cresting above the pre-Covid era, said Charles St-Arnaud, chief economist at Alberta Central, in an analysis of the latest figures.

The Bank of Canada’s (BOC) move to come off the sidelines after a five-month pause has sent a signal that some economic pain will be needed to tame stubborn inflation, presently at 3.4%, leading investors to raise bets on a hard landing for the economy.

The central bank is worried that the Canadian economy is still running too hot for inflation to return to its 2% target and that if it waits to act, inflation expectations could rise, making matters worse.

“The question is whether the continued strength of the labour market, with the very low unemployment rate, and the vast amount of saving accumulated during the pandemic will continue to provide some relief,” St-Arnaud said in his note.

Inflation has even overtaken the Canada Food Guide, says the federal department responsible for benchmark guidance on healthy eating.

Less than a third of Canadians can afford minimum daily servings of fruit and vegetables. It said: “The Food Guide was released prior to the recent rising cost of food due to inflation and does not currently acknowledge the growing issues of food availability and affordability.”

The economy becomes more sensitive to increased borrowing costs just as consumers start to feel the effects of the BOC’s latest rate hikes. The central bank lifted its benchmark rate to a 22-year high of 4.75% this month and is expected to tighten further in July or September.

The BOC says it takes between six and eight quarters for rate hikes to sink in.

In Canada, insolvencies numbered 11,262 in May, down 4.1% compared with 2019. Of that, bankruptcies totalled 2,735, down 42.6% relative to 2109. However, proposals totalling 8,561 in May were 22.6% higher relative to 2019. Year-to-date, insolvencies are now up 27.6%.

Insolvencies rose above their pre-pandemic levels in Manitoba, British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario and Saskatchewan — all provinces with rates of debt-to-disposable income higher than the average.

Manitoba reported a 35% jump in insolvencies relative to 2019, the highest increase among the five provinces where insolvency rates rose above pre-Covid levels. In B.C., insolvencies jumped 17%, in Alberta 7.3%, Ontario, 2.9% and 0.3% in Saskatchewan.

Insolvencies remain well below pre-pandemic levels in P.E.I., where they are down 27.8%, Quebec, down 20.4%, New Brunswick, down 18.8%, Nova Scotia, 18.3% and Newfoundland, down 18.1%.

However, no province has been spared from rising numbers of proposals to renegotiate terms of loans that have surpassed pre-Covid marks, the economist said.

“This suggests that an increasing share of households are facing financial stress,” St-Arnaud said.

St-Arnaud attributed the shifting insolvency outlook to record levels of household debt, weakening purchasing power and a series of increases to the BOC’s benchmark lending rate, which sets the baseline costs for borrowing.

Further, the Calgary-based economist said he expects insolvencies to continue to rise this year since higher interest rates have yet to fully filter through to household borrowing.

“The question is whether the continued strength of the labour market, with the very low unemployment rate, and the vast amount of saving accumulated during the pandemic will continue to provide some relief,” St-Arnaud said.

The Alberta Roundup | Danielle Smith accused of ‘stalling’ clean energy

By
Rachel Parker
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This week on the Alberta Roundup with Rachel Emmanuel, Rachel discusses the Alberta government’s response to the federal government’s new Clean Fuel Regulations.

Also this week, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith was accused of “stalling” the transition to clean energy.

Rachel also has an exclusive interview with a Canadian woman who’s seeking treatment in the US after being denied an organ transplant in Canada.

You can donate to Sheila Annete Lewis’ GiveSendGo by clicking HERE.

And, some Alberta doctors are upset that former provincial chief medical health officer Deena Hinshaw’s recent job offer was rescinded.

Tune into the Alberta Roundup now!

Study finds interest in EVs declining despite feds’ push

By
Elie Cantin-Nantel
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A study has found that Canadians’ interest in purchasing an electric vehicle (EVs) has declined in the past year, despite the Trudeau government pushing EVs as part of its “Net-Zero” agenda. 

The J.D. Power Canada Electric Vehicle Consideration Study found that 66% of Canadians are either “very unlikely” or “somewhat unlikely” to consider an electric car for their next purchase – up 13% from last year. 

The number of Canadians considering an electric car has decreased from 47% to 34%.

EV consideration is at its lowest in the Prairies, where only 22% of people showed interest in purchasing a zero emission vehicle. 26% of Maritimers, 34% of Ontarians, 39% of Quebecers and 46% of British Columbians said they are considering getting an EV.

As for the reasons behind EV hesitation, 63% cited concerns with range, 59% cited the price of the cars, and 55% noted a lack of charging stations.

55% of those surveyed also say they’ve never been in an electric car. Among those who have been in an EV, less than half (43%) said they are “somewhat likely” or “very likely” considering purchasing one.

Canada’s EV trends differ from the United States, where 61% of American consumers are either “very likely” or “somewhat likely” to consider purchasing an EV this year – up from 59% last year.

Speaking about the results of the study, J.D. Power Canada automotive practice director J.D. Ney said that “despite current legislation that is pushing hard for EV adoption, consumers in Canada are still not sold on the idea of automotive electrification.”

“Growing concerns about affordability and infrastructure (both from charging and electrical grid perspectives), have caused a significant decline in the number of consumers who see themselves in the market for an EV anytime soon.”

Ney added that “against this backdrop, it is going to take significant investment and close collaboration between manufacturers and lawmakers to address issues of overall affordability, capability and infrastructure before Canada can reach its national and provincial EV sales targets.”

The Trudeau argument wants to drastically increase the number of electric cars on the road as part of its “Net-Zero” agenda – which will eventually see the elimination of new gasoline car sales. 

The Liberals announced last year that it plans to mandate 20% of new vehicles sold be zero emission in 2026. The mandated percentage would then increase to 60% in 2030 and 100% in 2035.

8.4% of new cars registered in Canada in 2022 were battery electric vehicles. Canada aims to have “Net-Zero” carbon emissions by 2050.

The Trudeau government has offered billions in subsidies to car manufacturers to build EV plants in Canada, including 13 billion dollars to Volkswagen, an amount that has been described as “utterly off the charts.”

The J.D Power study looked at responses from 4,488 people and was fielded in April-May 2023.

Toronto Star-Postmedia merger could stifle diverse opinions in legacy media, expert says

By
Neil Sharma
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The possible merger between Postmedia and the Toronto Star—two ideologically polar media organizations now engaged in non-binding discussions—will diminish a diversity of opinions in Canada’s legacy media, asserts an industry veteran.

“The people working on mergers like this tend to sell them as a positive point, but, in fact, they never are. What they mean for media is less diversity of viewpoints and they’re going to mean layoffs,” Matthew Hays, a media studies teacher at Marianopolis College and Concordia University in Montreal, told True North.

By circulation, the Toronto Star jockeys with the Globe and Mail for highest countrywide circulation, while the Postmedia network comprises more than 130 brands, including the National Post, Toronto Sun, Ottawa Sun, and others that enjoy majority market share in small- and mid-sized cities.

Hays, also a veteran arts critic who spent more than a decade as the now-defunct Montreal Mirror’s associate editor, says past instances of news media conglomeration diminished the range of perspectives publications presented.

But Hays contends job cuts in the legacy media have a similar outcome because the breadth of news coverage rises and falls with tan outlet’s capacity to produce news.

That may very well be an outcome of the potential Postmedia-Toronto Star transaction.

In a press release, Postmedia’s president and CEO Andrew MacLeod said “the existential threat” facing the news industry is the catalyst for a possible merger between two unlikely bedfellows.

“The core rationale for the proposed merger is to create a new entity with reduced debt, national digital scale to compete with the global technology giants and economies of scale in the business model,” McLeod said in the statement.

“The news media industry in Canada and around the world is under existential threat, new models are urgently required. Scale, reach and efficiency are all prerequisites for future success and to compete with the global technology platforms.”

The press release claims all publications would retain editorial independences, should the transition become fully realized —the Star, for example, would be owned by a new company called Toronto Star Inc.—and that new entity would “provide the best opportunity to ensure strong news media coverage for Canadians from coast to coast”—although it didn’t explain how.

“Whatever barrier the new owners say they’re going to put up to stop this from meaning less diversity is just cosmetic,” Hays said. “It will mean less diversity of opinion and fewer jobs.”

Under the proposed ownership structure of the as-yet-unnamed entity, Nordstar Capital control 50% of voting interest and 44% of the economic interest, the press release said, while Postmedia would have 50% and 56%, respectively.

Nordstar would have a 65% stake in the Toronto Star, and Star publisher Jordan Bitove would retain his position in addition to becoming the new entity’s chairman, while MacLeod would be its CEO.

Iran influencing Canadian bureaucrats, Candice Bergen warns

By
Andrew Lawton
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Agents of the Iranian regime are putting “immense pressure” on Canadian civil servants, and often succeeding at influencing them, according to former interim Conservative leader Candice Bergen.

Bergen, who recently stepped down as member of parliament in Portage—Lisgar, told a group of Iranian dissidents that “so-called Iranian diplomats” have cultivated relationships with Canadian bureaucrats.

“What we’re seeing in Canada… is immense pressure and disinformation that’s given to the bureaucrats and the civil servants who are advising our politicians and our government,” Bergen said Friday.

Bergen was speaking on a disinformation panel at the National Council of Resistance of Iran’s Free Iran conference in Paris.

Bergen said in previous years Global Affairs Canada civil servants tried to get her and other members of parliament to not attend the annual event.

“Some of the biggest pressure that I’ve received has actually been from the bureaucrats who would call us in and advise us to not be participants of this conference,” she said. “The bureaucrats want to play it safe. And I think that they are many times advising our government leaders ‘Just stay away from it.’”

Bergen said this often stems from a desire to “not tick off Iran” or from a fear that Iran could retaliate. She noted that Iranian regime representatives play off bureaucrats’ ignorance to the facts on the ground.

“So-called Iranian diplomats have relationships with our civil servants in our countries, and these are many civil servants who are very well-meaning but they don’t get out of their capitals very often,” she said. “I know in Ottawa they don’t get out of Ottawa very often and they don’t get to actually meet with the real people on the ground, whereas as politicians we do, and we have a little more courage and oomph to do these things.”

Other members of the Canadian delegation include former Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper, former Conservative cabinet ministers John Baird and Tony Clement, retired Liberal MP Wayne Easter and sitting Liberal MP Judy Sgro.

True North asked Sgro if Global Affairs Canada had interceded ahead of her attendance this year but did not receive a reply by the time of publication.

Bergen also warned of “appeasers” of the Iranian regime who’ve infiltrated many aspects of civil society in Canada and around the world.

“We see appeasers in our own country, in our own governments, in our own media, in our own academic institutions,” she said.

“You know, you have to ask yourself, why in Canada did we, as a parliament, vote to call the (Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) a terrorist organization? And the current government, although they support it, they won’t do it. They’ve put forward some reasons that I think are thinly veiled excuses. But there’s pressure, there’s a lot of pressure.”

The France-based NCRI, led by Maryam Rajavi, positions itself as Iran’s democratically-elected government-in-exile. The organization has attracted a great deal of support from current and former western leaders as a democratic alternative to Iran’s theocratic regime.

In May, former Canadian prime ministers Stephen Harper and Kim Campbell were among more than 100 signatories to a letter calling on world leaders to act against the Iranian regime.

Bergen echoed the call in her remarks Friday.

“We have to be strong and vigilant and stand shoulder to shoulder… with Mrs. Rajavi with everyone who is working as part of the organization to free Iran,” she said.

Toronto 18 terror plotter granted full parole after 14 years in prison

By
Cosmin Dzsurdzsa
-

One of the main conspirators behind a foiled 2006 Islamist terrorist attack in Toronto was granted a release from prison on full parole. 

The Parole Board of Canada judged that 47-year-old Shareef Abdelhaleem doesn’t pose a risk to society any longer and has allegedly shown enough progress in a deradicalization program to end his correctional supervision.

Abdelhaleem was a software engineer who joined a group of Jihadist extremists known as the Toronto 18, who planned to detonate vans filled with explosives at the Toronto Stock Exchange, a military base near Toronto and the CSIS headquarters. 

They also wanted to kill the prime minister. The plot was uncovered by an undercover RCMP operation and Abdelhaleem was arrested in 2006.

He was convicted in 2011 and sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 10 years. 

Abdelhaleem spent 14 years in a Quebec prison, where he received de-radicalization counselling and claimed to have renounced his extremist views. 

He was granted day parole in 2021 and moved to a Montreal halfway house. He also enrolled in full-time studies at an undisclosed educational institution. 

In March, the parole board further gave Abdulhaleem day parole for another three months and called a meeting to determine whether he was eligible for full parole. In its decision on Wednesday, the board claimed that the terror plotter has met the expectations of his release plan and has “developed a relationship of trust” with his caseworkers. 

Abdelhaleem faces two conditions for full parole: he’s prevented from holding any position of leadership in religious organizations, and is prohibited from associating with those involved in criminal or radical movements. 

“Given your overall progress, your CMT (case management team) is of the opinion that your release plan is realistic, structured, gradual and can be endorsed because it currently contains the necessary steps to achieve your objectives,” the board said.

“Therefore, it believes that you are ready and have reached the goals to be granted full parole.”

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