For one would-be property owner, the latest interest rate hike is a setback

Another hike in interest rates marks yet one more step back in Montrealer Elyse Gamache-Belisle's journey to home ownership.

The single mother of two young children works as a project manager. She set off on an adventure a year and a half ago.

Gamache-Belisle is collecting thousands of cans and cashing in her empties for a down payment on a property.

Her goal is both to raise money, but also to raise awareness about the challenges facing would-be buyers.

"I see rates going up, inflation going up, and if a person like me, a single mom with a good job can't afford to stay in my neighborhood, then a lot of people will have the same problem or worse," she says.

She has been saving for a decade, hoping to buy an apartment building in Montreal's Villeray neighborhood where she could live and rent other units at an affordable price.

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Gamache-Belisle says she loves to shop in the area and that her children walk to school. But in 2021, a spike in real estate costs forced her, like so many Canadians, to take a close look at whether her dream would ever become reality.

"And at times it feels like my neighborhood is pushing me away," she says. "It is as though it is telling me that I don't have enough money to live here."

So she began asking neighbours, family members and friends for their empties.

"Many people put their cans in the garbage, that is not good for the planet, so I ask them to give them to me, so I can do something with those cans. I will trade those for money for a home, and to offer someone a home at a reasonable rent."

As the Bank of Canada rose its benchmark interest rate on Wednesday by 50 basis points to 3.75 per cent, the sixth hike this year, Gamache-Belisle was trying to take stock of just how many more cans, how many more years away her goal is now. If she bought a property now, her monthly payments would add up to thousands of dollars more a year than in 2021.

Would-be home owners are also feeling the pinch of inflation, making it hard to put money aside.

In Montreal's Jean-Talon market, colourful displays of apples, cauliflowers and tomatoes are on offer for shoppers. Many here say they can still find bargains: a man filled a basket mounted on the back of his bicycle with a mound of apples. "All that was just five dollars," he announced with a smile.

Still the increase in the overall cost of food has put a dent in many budgets. The price tag for a stick of butter in a nearby store was $8 on Wednesday. 

"I am a caterer," says a man stopping by a fruit and vegetable stand. "I have noticed that everything has gone up, fruits, vegetables, fish, meat" he lists. He adjusts by trying out new recipes, and is adamant he will keep trying not to charge his customers a higher price. "I don't want to feed into this inflation wheel," he says.

And Gamache-Belisle says that is part of the message she wants to send with her can collection.

"I really want people to think of one another, of how we can help other," she says. "Because we have a problem right now."