Canada’s federal banking regulator has said the housing market is in the late stages of a “speculative fever” and warned that prices could drop by as much as 20% in some cities.
“There is a speculative fever that takes over private markets and that’s what’s playing out,” said Head of the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions Peter Routledge on “The Herle Burly” podcast on Wednesday. “My expectation is that as rates go up, assuming they do, some of that fever is going to abate a little and you’ll see a slowdown in prices.”
Routledge said that the increase in home prices across Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic has been fuelled by various effects. These include households “sitting on equity” because of rising home prices in the past decade, low delinquency rates and a “herd mentality” as prices increased and the Bank of Canada dropped its benchmark lending rate to zero.
He added that as these effects recede, housing markets will cool, and some of them might correct. In some markets where there were increasing prices, he said, people could expect “a fall of 10%, 20%, even.”.
Routledge said that he believes the price drops he expects in some cities will not pose a broader threat to Canada’s financial system. Toronto and Vancouver, he said, have experienced similar price declines before.
Canada’s housing market has been setting records throughout the last decade, led by Toronto and Vancouver. Soaring prices have spread to other cities across Canada, however, as people continue to look for larger, cheaper homes.
Routledge said that investors took advantage of the opportunity to make money, accounting for about 22% of home sales now as opposed to 15% in the past.
He said that investors’ interest in the housing market will likely decline.
“With rates going up, with the general recognition that, ‘Boy, housing is pretty fully valued,’ I’m not sure your expected return in the housing sector,” he said. “I think a smart investor would think twice and maybe look at other outlets.”
A number of Canadian cities saw house price increases averaging at or near six figures in 2021, according to Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) data obtained by Blacklock’s Reporter.
CREA data showed that 666,995 homes were sold across Canada in 2021. According to the data, the year-over-year average Canadian home price went up by 18% to $713,542 in December.
“There are currently fewer properties listed for sale in Canada than at any point on record,” said CREA senior economist Shaun Cathcart in a statement to Blacklock’s. “Unfortunately the housing affordability problem facing the country is likely to get worse before it gets better.”
Figures showed average price gains at or near $100,000 or more in Victoria, Vancouver, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Halifax.
The Truckers for Freedom Convoy continues to have a huge impact on Canadians, as provinces begin to loosen its COVID-19 restrictions. The convoy was also the final straw for Erin O’Toole – after waffling on his support for the truckers, Conservative MPs finally had enough and ejected O’Toole as leader on Wednesday.
The party will now hold its third leadership race since 2016. Are the Conservatives still united? What’s the future of the Conservatives?
On this episode of The Candice Malcolm Show, Candice discusses what conservative voters are looking for in a leader and some of the potential candidates in the upcoming leadership race.
Several of Canada’s largest cities are expected to see a new wave of protests this weekend as calls to end vaccine mandates and other COVID restrictions sweep the country.
In addition to people returning to support the Truckers for Freedom Convoy which arrived in Ottawa last week, protests are also planned in cities including Toronto, Quebec City and Calgary.
While some of the protests will involve truckers, others will be stand-up demonstrations against the erosion of freedoms under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Ottawa
Ottawa Police are expecting numbers to swell on Parliament Hill this weekend as the city hosts another bout of demonstrations. Last weekend, tens of thousands showed up for the peaceful protest, and many trucks that arrived with the original convoy still remain parked throughout the national capital.
Toronto
Truckers and their supporters in Toronto will be launching a Truckers for Freedom Convoy demonstration on Saturday beginning at 12 p.m. in front of Queen’s Park. Other protests are also planned throughout the Greater Toronto Area.
Quebec City
Quebecers plan on showing up at the National Assembly beginning on Thursday to stand in solidarity with the truckers in Ottawa. The protest will be happening alongside the city’s winter festival which begins on Friday. Protest organizers have stated that their activities will not prevent access to the carnival.
Calgary
A trucker convoy is expected to arrive in Calgary on Saturday in support of ongoing blockades at the Coutts, Alberta border crossing. Again, demonstrators are calling for an end to COVID-19 restrictions and vaccine mandates.
“We want the mandates gone,” said organizer Diane Inkin. “Let us get back to our lives, and the sooner the government steps up and does that, the sooner this will just go away.”
Victoria
A Truckers for Freedom Convoy protest is scheduled to begin in Victoria at 6:45 a.m. this Saturday. It follows a similar demonstration last week, which saw former Newfoundland premier Brian Peckford speak to thousands about the importance of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and how it is being eroded by public health measures.
Truckers will be heading south from Campbell River on Vancouver Island and gathering numbers until they reach Victoria. Motorists are encouraged to join in. A gathering is expected to take place in front of B.C.’s legislature on the same day.
Winnipeg
Winnipeg is aware of a convoy protest arriving at the province’s legislative buildings beginning at 9 a.m. Friday. Organizers are working with the police to ensure the demonstration is peaceful.
Saskatoon
Protestors will arrive at Saskatchewan’s legislature Saturday in Regina. Truckers are hoping to occupy the park and are calling for the Saskatchewan government to remove all COVID-19 mandates immediately rather than at the end of the month. A counter-group of protestors opposed to the freedom movement is also expected to show up.
Ottawa mayor Jim Watson wants a group of Conservative politicians who met with some of the truckers parked outside Parliament Hill to say they’re sorry.
“This is an absolute disgrace that you would come out & praise this illegal action that has caused stress and hardship to residents who have been putting up with horns blasting throughout the night and residents harassed for wearing a mask & businesses forced to close,” said Watson in a tweet on Wednesday. “Apologize.”
A few of our SK Caucus members went to show our appreciation for the hardworking, patriotic truckers who have kept our supply chains healthy & grocery shelves stocked for the past two years. It’s great to see Canadians championing freedom on Parliament Hill. #freedomconvoy22pic.twitter.com/5sJwLJ8p9E
Watson’s comments came after Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) Member of Parliament Kevin Waugh posted photos of himself and some of his colleagues at the Freedom Convoy protest site.
Waugh had described his meeting with the truckers in a wholly positive way, saying “(a) few of our SK Caucus members went to show our appreciation for the hardworking, patriotic truckers who have kept our supply chains healthy & grocery shelves stocked for the past two years. It’s great to see Canadians championing freedom on Parliament Hill.”
The other CPC members who posed in the photos with Waugh were Senator Denise Batters and former leader Andrew Scheer, along with MPs Rosemarie Falk and Fraser Tolmie.
Ottawa Police warned they might have to call in the Canadian military to break up the trucker convoy amid growing tensions between protestors opposing COVID-19 restrictions and downtown residents.
Ottawa Police chief Peter Sloly said that police officers did not have the resources to remove the trucks blocking the streets in Ottawa, adding the city is looking for help. However, Sloly added that bringing in the military carried a “massive risk” because officers were aware of the presence of weapons, including the actual trucks.
“We do not want riots, but all options remain on the table,” Sloly said.
Sloly’s remarks were amped up by former Ottawa Police chief Charles Bordeleau, who told CTV on Wednesday that it’s “not appropriate” for political leaders to “influence and support this type of criminal and illegal behaviour”…it’s putting “fuel on the fire.”
The trucker convoy entered its twelfth day on Thursday. The protest has remained peaceful, with people singing and dancing for most of the day while serving up free food and coffee on every block along the closed stretch of Wellington Street.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has recused himself from dealing with the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) – a lobby group that has received millions of dollars from his government – after the organization appointed his wife Sophie as a “national volunteer.”
According to Blacklock’s Reporter, Trudeau made the decision Wednesday, which was reported in a Public Declaration by the Ethics Commissioner Mario Dion.
In 2021, the CMHA received $1,946,003 in funding from the federal government as well as an additional $2.4 million that went towards local chapters throughout the country.
“The Commissioner and I have agreed a conflict of interest screen is an appropriate measure to prevent an opportunity while exercising my official powers, duties and functions to further the private interests of my spouse Sophie Grégoire Trudeau,” wrote Trudeau.
“I am neither to be made aware of nor a participant in any discussion or decision-making process pertaining to the private interests of my spouse or matters related specifically to the Mental Health Association itself unless the interest is in a decision or matter that is of general application. My cabinet and ministerial staff have been informed in writing of this conflict of interest screen.”
CMHA spokesperson Katherine Janson has stated that Sophie Gregoire Trudeau will remain in the position throughout the year.
“She will be acting as national volunteer throughout 2022. There is no consideration for talent fees or per diems and there is no consideration for expenses,” said Janson.
Trudeau has run afoul of ethics laws on at least two occasions in the past. In 2017, he was found to have broken the Conflict of Interest Act after accepting a paid trip by close family friend the Aga Khan and not recusing himself from a conversation on federal matters.
Trudeau was found to have broken the act again in 2019 after attempting to pressure former attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould to intervene in a criminal prosecution of SNC-Lavalin executives.
Most recently, the Conservatives accused theTrudeau of another conflict of interest after he approved a $43.5 million federal grant for We Charity in 2020. Several members of Trudeau’s family, including his wife Sophie, were found to have received free travel and other compensation from the charity for numerous speaking engagements.
A subsequent report found that although Trudeau did not break any laws, the decision to award the organization the funding had the “appearance” of a conflict of interest.
Despite continuing reports of record COVID-19 cases and hospital numbers, British Columbia data now shows that half the province’s COVID hospitalizations since Dec. 1 were not people admitted because of COVID, but people who incidentally tested positive for the virus after being admitted for other reasons.
“So, it’s not COVID that’s driving them into hospital,” provincial health officer Bonnie Henry said at a briefing on Tuesday.
Data released Tuesday by the B.C. Centre for Disease Control shows that during December and January, more than 40% of patients who tested positive for COVID-19 – including 60% of Omicron cases – came to hospital for other reasons than COVID, and had “no or mild respiratory symptoms or other symptoms of COVID-19.”
The data gives much-needed context to reports of record-breaking COVID numbers in B.C., including more than 1,000 hospitalizations reported this week. It also shows that from Dec. 1 onward, patients testing positive for Omicron grew to 16-to-one over the Delta variant.
The release of this data also makes good on Henry’s promise in January to get a better picture of reasons for hospitalizations, admitting the existing numbers were “an overestimation of the burden that Omicron is causing.”
Henry had admitted on Jan. 7 that at the time, B.C. was counting everyone in the hospital with a COVID positive test as a hospitalization.
“We’re trying to tease apart people who are in hospital from COVID, people who are in hospital with COVID, and people who are in hospital because COVID exacerbated one of the underlying conditions,” she had said. “It’s not easy to do that, except by going and looking at every individual chart.”
The data released Tuesday also shows that Omicron infection was much less severe than with prior variants, including its effects on residents of long-term care homes.
“The odds of being hospitalized with Omicron are much less,” Henry added.
Despite this data’s revelations and the specific context it provides for the highly infectious Omicron wave, legacy media outlets continued on Wednesday to report active cases and hospitalization numbers without proportional breakdowns.
It was also reported that 73.7% of COVID-19 patients in hospital had received either one or two COVID shots, compared to 26.3% who were unvaccinated.
B.C. officials also confirmed that about 40% of COVID-19 deaths recorded in January involved seniors in care, with most others involving older people with underlying illness, a “high proportion” of whom weren’t vaccinated, according to Henry.
Amidst record-breaking COVID cases and hospitalizations, the government also reported that 89.9% of eligible B.C. residents aged five or older had received at least one COVID shot, and 84% had received two.
This compared to 49.7% of adults who had opted for their third shots.
On Day 11 of the Truckers for Freedom Convoy, Erin O’Toole was ousted as Conservative leader, Candice Bergen assumed interim leadership and the Ottawa Police considered calling in the military on peaceful, unarmed protestors.
It was a huge day for the trucker convoy as the protest bagged its first major win – the turfing of opposition leader Erin O’Toole. News of a caucus revolt first surfaced Tuesday night, suggesting enough Conservative MPs had signed a letter to hold a vote on Erin O’Toole.
That vote took place today, with MPs deciding, 73-45 to get rid of O’Toole. By the end of the day, the Tories had selected their new interim leader, Candice Bergen.
A party stalwart, Bergen had defended Canada’s truckers in Question Period on Monday in a fiery exchange with Liberal government house leader Mark Holland.
Bergen reminded the Liberals that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had worn blackface “more times than he could remember” and that the Liberals had been silent when statues were being beheaded and churches being burned down across the country.
Early possibilities for the Conservative leadership include Pierre Poilievre, Leslyn Lewis, Patrick Brown and Michelle Rempel Garner.
Meanwhile in Coutts, Alberta, the ongoing standoff between the truckers and the RCMP remained largely unchanged, with the truckers continuing to hold strong.
This aerial footage from Rebel News shows the scene at the border earlier this morning.
The Rebelcopter is headed to Coutts, Alberta to survey the scene as truckers continue to protest vaccine mandates in Alberta and across Canada.
Food and supplies were being driven into Coutts by locals who were allowed to get through the RCMP barricades. Everyone else was kept away from the scene.
An exchange between a protestor at the blockade and an RCMP officer was posted to Twitter. Here, you can hear the RCMP officer trying to convince the protestor to back down.
Here's an exchange between RCMP and those in the Coutts blockade – as officers try to talk down the protestors.
“I see how you’re doing what you think is the right thing, but you’re doing it in the wrong way and not accomplishing what you want. In fact, you end up making your position worse,” the RCMP officer said.
Rebel News posted footage showing hundreds of trucks driving down to the Coutts border to join the blockade and offer their support.
BREAKING – Hundreds of trucks on Hwy 36 and Hwy 1 junction near Brooks, AB slowing traffic in both directions in support of the Coutts blockade.@RebelNewsOnline
In Ontario, the rhetoric ramped up against the peaceful truckers who have been camping out on Wellington Street since Friday.
Ottawa Police Chief Peter Sloly issued a warning today that his officers might not be prepared to handle the protestors who, peacefully and unarmed, have been dancing and singing for days. Chief Sloly said that all options “were on the table,” including calling in the military.
Sloly’s remarks were condemned by former Lieutenant general Michael Day, who commanded Canadian special forces.
“This is a horrible idea. These are unarmed citizens,” Day said on Twitter. “This is a police matter. Failure to act appropriately at the front end does not provide license to pass the buck.”
The scene on the ground today in Ottawa was again peaceful. Protestors continued singing and dancing for most of the afternoon while serving up free food and coffee on every block along the closed stretch of Wellington Street.
One trucker spoke to True North from his rig, sending a message to all Canadians that “(e)very village, every small city has to stand up and fight for our liberty and for our freedom.”
The protests in Ottawa are being completely misreported by the legacy media. I was in Ottawa today to get the facts and capture the atmosphere on the ground.
The Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) caucus has picked Candice Bergen to be their interim leader after voting to oust Erin O’Toole on Wednesday.
Caucus met this evening to hash out who would steer the party until an official leadership race determines O’Toole’s successor. The interim party leader is barred from running for the post.
Some others who cast their name for the interim leadership included John Barlow, John Williamson, Rob Moore, Tom Kmiec, John Brassard, Kerry-Lynne Findlay and Marilyn Gladu.
Bergen has represented the riding of Portage-Lisgar since 2008. Prior to becoming interim leader, the Manitoban was deputy leader of the party under O’Toole. Bergen has also served as Canada’s minister of state for social development and parliamentary secretary to the minister of public safety in the Harper government.
Recently, Bergen has been a vocal supporter of the Truckers for Freedom convoy.
On Wednesday morning, CPC Members of Parliament voted to dismiss O’Toole as leader after many claimed he had taken the party in the wrong direction.
During the 2021 federal election, O’Toole failed to make any gains for the CPC, thereby ensuring another Liberal minority victory.
While in charge, O’Toole flip-flopped on several key campaign promises including the federal carbon tax, defunding the CBC, firearms rights, balanced budgets and vaccine passports.
O’Toole resigned soon after the vote on Wednesday but said he plans to stay on as MP under the new CPC leader.
“Our party founded this great nation,” said O’Toole in a video statement following his resignation. “I believe it can and should lead Canada out of these troubling times for our country.”
“I want to thank the people of Durham who I will continue to serve as Member of Parliament. I never lose sight of what an honour it is for me to serve my hometown in Parliament, and there is not a bad seat in the House of Commons.”
Among them are finance critic Pierre Poilievre, former leadership candidate Leslyn Lewis and natural resources critic Michelle Rempel Garner.
The key challenge the new interim leader faces will be healing the rifts in the party left by O’Toole’s leadership.
There are some CPC MPs like Michael Chong who likely still want the party to move closer to the centre, while others including Pierre Poilievre represent a return to the party’s conservative grassroots.
The CPC’s last interim leader was Rona Ambrose, who replaced former leader Andrew Scheer after he was ousted following the results of the 2019 federal election. That set the stage for the 2020 leadership race that saw Erin O’Toole defeat three other contenders, including former cabinet minister Peter MacKay.
A groundbreaking report by Johns Hopkins University researchers has concluded that lockdowns did little to nothing when it came to reducing COVID-19 mortality rates, and instead had devastating effects on the social and economic fabric of our society.
The study, titled A Literature Review and Meta-analysis of the Effects of Lockdowns on COVID-19 Mortality reviewed 18,590 research reports to arrive at its conclusions.
Lockdowns were defined as “at least one compulsory, non-pharmaceutical intervention” including limiting internal movement, school and business closures, bans on international travel and more.
“Overall, we conclude that lockdowns are not an effective way of reducing mortality rates during a pandemic, at least not during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic,” wrote researchers.
“In Edmonton, Canada, isolation and quarantine were instituted; public meetings were banned; schools, churches, colleges, theaters, and other public gathering places were closed; and business hours were restricted without obvious impact on the epidemic.”
After reporting that lockdowns had little to no effect on mortality rates, the study went on to recognize the “devastating effects” the measures did have on society, including rates of domestic violence, schooling and civil rights.
“The use of lockdowns is a unique feature of the COVID-19 pandemic,” wrote researchers. “Lockdowns have not been used to such a large extent during any of the pandemics of the past century. However, lockdowns during the initial phase of the COVID-19 pandemic have had devastating effects.”
“They have contributed to reducing economic activity, raising unemployment, reducing schooling, causing political unrest, contributing to domestic violence, and undermining liberal democracy. These costs to society must be compared to the benefits of lockdowns, which our meta-analysis has shown are marginal at best. Such a standard benefit-cost calculation leads to a strong conclusion: lockdowns should be rejected out of hand as a pandemic policy instrument.”
To this day, there remain many advocates of lockdowns in Canada, including the Ontario Science Table, who successfully advocated for the province to shut down again during the latest wave of COVID-19.
The Johns Hopkins study confirms what many experts whom public health officials once discredited have been saying all along – lockdowns don’t work. One Ontario doctor was even suspended from practicing medicine for criticizing lockdowns.
Public support for lockdowns and other COVID-19 measures has dwindled in recent weeks with as many as 54% of Canadians thinking that restrictions should end according to an Angus Reid Institute.
With Erin O’Toole gone as Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) leader, the party will be scrambling to set the stage for another leadership race.
With a potential federal election on the way in less than two years – perhaps much less if the minority Liberal government fails a confidence vote – CPC members have begun to speculate as to the future direction of their party.
An overwhelming number of the CPC caucus voted to be rid of O’Toole on Wednesday. Their fundamental grievance, according to sources, was that the former leader had taken the party too close to the centre by reneging on his “True Blue” brand and too closely mimicking Liberal party policies and stances.
Others loyal to O’Toole stood by his approach, but they didn’t have the numbers to save him.
Several names have been floated as to who will be O’Toole’s successor. True North has compiled a list of some of the most credible candidates along with two unlikely – yet fun-to-consider – picks.
Pierre Poilievre
Finance critic Pierre Poilievre is among the foremost candidates suggested to replace O’Toole.
Poilievre has been at the forefront of Question Period, dishing it out to the governing Liberals – and to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau – at every opportunity he gets. His recent principled support of the trucker convoy and strong fiscal conservatism have solidified his position as a favourite of the Conservative base.
As an experienced politician with wide name recognition, Poilievre tops the list as having a good chance to lead the party into the next election and possibly into government.
Leslyn Lewis
Although still a rookie MP, Leslyn Lewis caught the attention not only of Tories but also of the entire country when she ran for the 2020 Conservative leadership without yet having a seat in the House of Commons.
After placing third behind Peter MacKay in the leadership race, Lewis was elected to represent Haldimand–Norfolk with a strong showing in the 2021 federal election.
Lewis has been seen by many as sympathetic to the social conservative arm of the party and has long spoken out against government overreach during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Michelle Rempel Garner
Natural resources critic Michelle Rempel Garner is also a big name in Conservative circles and as an Alberta MP would be a solid pick for the party’s top post.
Prior to the caucus revolt which ousted O’Toole, Rempel Garner had thrown her hat behind the former leader and even admonished those who brought the matter to a vote on Wednesday.
Considering her progressive leanings and her ear for Western Canadian issues, Rempel Garner could easily pick up O’Toole’s supporters if she ran for leadership.
Brad Wall
Veteran politician and former Premier of Saskatchewan Brad Wall could be just what the CPC needs after a year of instability and divisions under O’Toole.
Wall’s name has been floated frequently in past leadership contests, and though he has yet to run in any of them, the CPC contest could just be the one where he throws his hat into the race.
As a wildly popular former premier, Wall has a lot going for him if he decides to run for leader, including his Prairie credentials and sensible conservative policies.
Michael Chong
Foreign affairs critic Michael Chong is well-known to Canadians at large. He has held several distinguished posts under former prime minister Stephen Harper, including Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs and President of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada. Chong also had a strong showing in the packed 2017 CPC leadership race, hanging on until the tenth of thirteen rounds.
As a member of the Opposition, Chong has also been at the forefront of international issues, spearheading a successful move to brand China’s treatments of Uyghur minorities a genocide.
With Red Tory leanings and Ontario roots, Chong could make a strong candidate in an upcoming leadership race.
Patrick Brown
Although not elected to the House of Commons, Mayor of Brampton and former Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario Patrick Brown certainly has the potential to be the next federal Conservative leader.
With an intimate knowledge of Ontario voters, Brown could very well be what it takes for the CPC to get a stronger foothold in the vote-rich 905 region, potentially turning the tide on Liberal dominance in and around Toronto.
Peter MacKay
People are asking whether former federal cabinet minister and veteran politician Peter MacKay might once again run for leadership of the CPC. After all, MacKay was runner-up to O’Toole in the 2020 leadership race.
MacKay has a long history with Canadian conservatism, overseeing the merger of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada with Stephen Harper’s Canadian Alliance in 2003 to form the modern CPC. While in federal politics, MacKay handled top cabinet files including National Defence, Foreign Affairs and Justice.
MacKay has both the name recognition and know-how to lead the CPC. It’s just a question of whether he’ll run again, and win.
Stephen Harper
Could former prime minister Stephen Harper come back to take the party’s reins? Although it’s very unlikely, many Conservatives fondly harken back to the days of Harper, which came to an end in 2015 with the majority election of Trudeau’s Liberals.
As Prime Minister, Harper raised Canada’s international profile, a stark contrast to the disastrous policies and embarrassing international behaviour of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Harper did it all, including weathering severe economic storms and standing up to belligerent nations such as Russia. There can be no doubt that he could do it all over again.
