The rate at which Canadian rental prices are increasing should slow in the coming years as the government's plan to cut back immigration numbers takes hold, a new report from Desjardins says. Rents have been rising fast and rent inflation is "much higher" than increases in the price of owned homes, it said. Inflation of rented accommodation was 8.3 per cent in the third quarter of this year, "the fastest pace since the early 1980s."
President-elect Donald Trump's promise to slap an across-the-board tariff of at least 10 per cent on all imports including from Canada is unlikely to apply to Canadian oil, energy experts are predicting. The threat of the tariff is causing a lot of concern north of the border, where the Canadian Chamber of Commerce said such a tariff could take a $30-billion bite out of the Canadian economy.
With the cost of living playing a central role in provincial elections across Canada and in the U.S. presidential race, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is set to unveil a pre-campaign policy plank for the next federal election to differentiate his party from the governing Liberals. Singh is expected to announce this morning that an NDP government would remove the GST on what his party deems "essentials."
British Columbia's Conservation Officer Service says a man from Abbotsford has pleaded guilty to two counts of trafficking in black bear paws.
A statement from the service says Hong Tao Yang entered his pleas in a Port Coquitlam courtroom on Wednesday, where he was ordered to pay a penalty and victim surcharge worth a total of $8,625.
Police in Squamish have issued a warning against vigilante action over safety concerns they say are circulating on social media. The statement from Sea to Sky RCMP says police want to "reassure" residents of the community about 60 kilometres north of Vancouver that "there is no current threat to public safety."
The City of Vancouver says it is on track to meet provincial targets in housing development in its latest progress report. Vancouver's first annual report on the targets showed that more than four-thousand units were built in the city from October 2023 to September 2024.
