Canada freezes merger notification threshold, funds housing innovation projects
Ottawa is freezing the threshold at which the Competition Bureau must be notified of a merger.
The federal Liberal government is also providing $123 million to eight homebuilders it says are driving innovation and will help build more than 5,000 affordable homes.
The announcements came Tuesday during Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland's weekly economic update alongside other ministers.
Federal law requires that mergers that exceed a certain value are flagged to the Competition Bureau in advance so it can assess the potential impact.
Ottawa says the amount usually increases along with gross domestic product -- but instead, it will be frozen at $93 million, the threshold since 2021.
Had the threshold been increased at the rate of economic growth, the federal government says it would have been around $120 million by now.
The home funding is being allocated through the Affordable Housing Innovation Fund, which finances rent-to-own schemes and other innovative projects.
Housing Minister Sean Fraser outlined some of the projects targeted for support, including ones focused on modular housing and lower energy costs.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 27, 2024.
IN DEPTH
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.6922467.1718138898!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.jpg)
'Not the result we wanted': Trudeau responds after surprise Conservative byelection win in Liberal stronghold
Conservative candidate Don Stewart winning the closely-watched Toronto-St. Paul's federal byelection, and delivering a stunning upset to Justin Trudeau's candidate Leslie Church in the long-time Liberal riding, has sent political shockwaves through both parties.
'We will go with the majority': Liberals slammed by opposition over proposal to delay next election
The federal Liberal government learned Friday it might have to retreat on a proposal within its electoral reform legislation to delay the next vote by one week, after all opposition parties came out to say they can't support it.
Budget 2024 prioritizes housing while taxing highest earners, deficit projected at $39.8B
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
Supports for passengers, farmers, artists: 7 bills from MPs and Senators to watch in 2024
When parliamentarians return to Ottawa in a few weeks to kick off the 2024 sitting, there are a few bills from MPs and senators that will be worth keeping an eye on, from a 'gutted' proposal to offer a carbon tax break to farmers, to an initiative aimed at improving Canada's DNA data bank.
Opinion
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.6850735.1713368648!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.jpg)
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
opinion Don Martin: The doctor Trudeau dumped has a prescription for better health care
Political columnist Don Martin sat down with former federal health minister Jane Philpott, who's on a crusade to help fix Canada's broken health care system, and who declined to take any shots at the prime minister who dumped her from caucus.
opinion Don Martin: Trudeau's seeking shelter from the housing storm he helped create
While Justin Trudeau's recent housing announcements are generally drawing praise from experts, political columnist Don Martin argues there shouldn’t be any standing ovations for a prime minister who helped caused the problem in the first place.
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.5346613.1719853464!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.jpg)
If you qualify for this tax credit, you can expect a payment in your bank account this week
The next quarterly GST/HST tax credit payment is expected to go out this week, according to the Canada Revenue Agency.
U.S. Supreme Court rules Trump has immunity for official, not private acts
The U.S. Supreme Court found on Monday that Donald Trump cannot be prosecuted for any actions that were within his constitutional powers as president, but can for private acts, in a landmark ruling recognizing for the first time any form of presidential immunity from prosecution.
This 12-year-old memorized the periodic table at age two. He's heading to NYU after finishing high school in just two years
Recent high school graduate Suborno Isaac Bari, 12, plans to start studying math and physics at New York University in the fall, but he’s already got his ambitious sights set on beginning a doctoral program.
On July 1, 1916, a generation of Newfoundlanders died in one brief battle
Millions are celebrating Canada’s 157th birthday this year -- as they do every year -- with fireworks, food and family. In Newfoundland, it is a day of mourning for one of the bloodiest battles of the First World War.
This smiling robot has a face covered in 'living' skin
The soft, pink blob stares at the camera with glassy eyes — before pulling its face into a dimpled smile.
Judge calls Jeffrey Epstein 'most infamous pedophile in American history' as he releases transcripts
A Florida judge released Monday afternoon the transcripts of a 2006 grand jury investigation that looked into sex trafficking and rape allegations made against the late millionaire and financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Woman faces charge of trying to smuggle turtles across Vermont lake to Canada by kayak
A woman from China has been arrested at a Vermont lake bordering Quebec for trying to smuggle 29 eastern box turtles, a protected species, into Canada by kayak, according to Border Patrol agents.
You might live to be 100 years old. But will you be able to afford it?
Retirement has historically lasted about two decades, but for some Canadians it is now extending to twice that amount of time as more live well into their 90s and beyond. That's making some rethink their investments, savings, expenses and when to retire.
Canada Day festivities attract hundreds at ceremonies, parties across the country
The Maple Leaf is flying on lampposts, flagpoles and patios across the country as cities from coast to coast welcome thousands of revellers for Canada Day.
Local Spotlight
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.6946213.1719658191!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.jpg)
LGBTQ2S+ newcomers celebrate first Pride in Canada
When Zhya Aramiy was living in Turkey and Iraq, he had to keep his Pride flags hidden away.
Raves, weddings, and field trips: GTA residents share memories of shuttered Ontario Science Centre
A rave at the Ontario Science Centre was the place where Greg LeBlanc says his relationship first began with his husband Mark in 1997.
Travellers watch as WestJet cancels flights with no end to mechanics strike in sight
Travellers flying with WestJet continue to watch as the airline cancels more flights due to a sudden strike by its mechanics union.
An unknown Newfoundland soldier killed in the First World War is being laid to rest
The remains of a soldier from Newfoundland killed in the battlefields of France during the First World War will be laid to rest in St. John's Monday, bringing an emotional end to a years-long effort in a place still shaken and forever changed by the bloodshed.
AHS water quality tests come back clean: Calgary moves forward with stabilizing service
The city is entering the final stages of resuming water service through its repaired feeder main, as water consumption continues to fall below the city’s threshold level.
'I am very proud': Manitoba grandfather and grandson graduate high school in same class
A grandfather and grandson duo proudly graduated alongside each other at the same northern Manitoba school.
'Absolutely amazing video': Basking shark spotted along eastern shore of Nova Scotia
A large basking shark was captured close to the shoreline on Nova Scotia's Eastern Shore.
World's largest hockey stick in B.C. to be chopped up, sold to collectors
The world's largest hockey stick could soon become the world's most in-pieces hockey stick as a Vancouver Island community prepares to tear down and carve up the Canadian landmark.
'Hanging on for her life': Sask. family desperate to bring home sick niece from Philippines
For half a decade, a Saskatoon family has been trying to bring their orphaned niece to Canada, they say now it’s a matter of life or death.