Invasive and toxic hammerhead worms make themselves at home in Ontario
Ontario is now home to an invasive and toxic worm species that can grow up to three feet long and can be dangerous to small animals and pets.
In Canada's six largest cities, 2023 started with stagnated housing construction, with a 20 per cent drop in the construction of single-detached homes compared to the year before.
In a report released by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) on Wednesday, housing started with a dip of 0.5 per cent in 2023, with 137,915 units built in Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa, Edmonton, Vancouver and Calgary.
In the same period, apartment construction started with an increase of 7 per cent, reaching a record-high of 98,774 units. A notable exception was Montreal, where apartment construction hit an 8-year low. Purpose-built rentals represented the largest share of new apartment builds at 42 per cent.
“There’s huge demand for rentals, I think single-detached is just coming out of reach, it’s becoming unfordable, it’s practically impossible to build those in city centres anymore,” said Aled ab lowerth, CMHC Deputy Chief Economist, in an interview with CTV News.
During a federal announcement to protect renters in Vancouver, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau defended his government’s efforts to fix housing.
“We’re going to continue to work with provinces right across the country, who recognize the challenges of, and the need to step up in partnership on solving the housing crisis,” he said, during a press conference with reporters.
While experts acknowledge improvements in government policy in relation to the housing market, many say it’s not enough in the face of challenging economic conditions.
“We’ve had some policy wins at all levels of government. We are starting to see some reforms, some positive tax changes, but those aren’t enough to make up for the global economic conditions of slower growth and higher interest rates,” said housing policy expert Mike Moffatt, during an interview with CTV News.
Despite increases in purpose-built rentals, experts say Canada needs to double the number of builds every year if it wants to meet the federal government's affordability target in 2030. The executive director of REALPack Micheal Brooks says Canada should be building roughly 700,000 new purpose-built rentals every year, a number that far exceeds the current reality.
"We have to probably double that pace to hit the 2030 targets the CMHC has hit, and it’s going to be extremely difficult when interest rates have effectively doubled since June of 2022," he said.
Today's CMHC report warns that high interest rates, and a lack of skilled labourers, are likely to slow the construction of apartments and condominiums next year. The report points out that many of the apartments and condominiums currently on the market were started, or financed, in "lower interest rate environments."
In Montreal, for example, the CMHC says they are seeing fewer apartments started due to higher financing and construction costs.
"Higher interest rates and the cost of labour will slow down apartment construction nationally," he said. "It is very difficult to find projects where the math works these days, not withstanding high rental rates in many markets and so that is reflected in the starts we are going to see moving forward, I think they will tail off."
Brooks says there are a number of levers that the federal government can use to try accelerate supply in rental housing, including reducing immigration, the introduction of new tax incentives and more low interest loans for construction companies.
"One thing they can do is offer low interest financing," he said. "Let's take mortgages from 7 per cent to 4 per cent, which would likely spur a lot more construction."
Ontario is now home to an invasive and toxic worm species that can grow up to three feet long and can be dangerous to small animals and pets.
Ontario is introducing a suite of measures that will crack down on cellphone use and vaping in schools.
One person has been charged with second-degree murder in connection with the death of a man who fell from a balcony following an altercation inside a Toronto apartment building.
Ukraine's troops have been forced to make a tactical retreat from three villages in the embattled east, the country's army chief said Sunday, warning of a worsening battlefield situation as Ukrainian forces wait for much-needed arms from a huge U.S. aid package to reach combat zones.
Zendaya and castmates Mike Faist and Josh O’Connor have been on a globetrotting press tour to get the word out about Italian director Luca Guadagnino's original film, which opened in 3,477 locations in the U.S. and Canada.
Dozens of people raised their arms in the fascist salute and shouted a fascist chant during ceremonies Sunday to honor Italian dictator Benito Mussolini on the 79th anniversary of his execution.
U.S. President Joe Biden is out to win votes by scoring some laughs at the expense of Donald Trump, unleashing mockery with the goal of getting under the former president's thin skin and reminding the country of his blunders.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has issued a recall for a specific chocolate brand sold in Ontario and Quebec.
Laurentian University's board of governors approved a budget of just over $201.7 million for the 2024-2025 fiscal year.
As if a 4-0 Edmonton Oilers lead in Game 1 of their playoff series with the Los Angeles Kings wasn't good enough, what was announced at Rogers Place during the next TV timeout nearly blew the roof off the downtown arena.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
A property tax bill is perplexing a small townhouse community in Fergus, Ont.
When identical twin sisters Kim and Michelle Krezonoski were invited to compete against some of the world’s most elite female runners at last week’s Boston Marathon, they were in disbelief.
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
A local Oilers fan is hoping to see his team cut through the postseason, so he can cut his hair.
A family from Laval, Que. is looking for answers... and their father's body. He died on vacation in Cuba and authorities sent someone else's body back to Canada.
A former educational assistant is calling attention to the rising violence in Alberta's classrooms.
The federal government says its plan to increase taxes on capital gains is aimed at wealthy Canadians to achieve “tax fairness.”