The average asking rent in Canada went up last month to a record two-thousand and 78 dollars.
A new report from Rentals-dot-c-a and research firm Urbanation says the total is 8.9 per cent higher than a year earlier.
It also found that between June and July alone, the average asking rent rose 1.8 per cent.
That's the most rapid month-over-month increase in the last eight months.
Sean Fraser, who previously served as immigration minister, was sworn in Wednesday morning as part of a Liberal government cabinet shuffle aimed at showcasing a fresh team ahead of the next federal election. Strong population growth through immigration is adding pressure to housing demand at a time when the country is struggling with an affordability crisis.
British Columbia is launching a $10.5-million program to help small businesses recover costs due to crime and vandalism. Economic Development Minister Brenda Bailey says the program will begin in the fall and is open to small businesses that suffered vandalism damage retroactive to Jan. 1 this year.
Two people had escaped the home and a neighbour had pulled a third person from the building and attempted life-saving efforts. Firefighters then found a fourth person in the basement as they battled the flames.
Employees at a lodge housing workers for LNG Canada's under-construction facility in Kitimat, B.C., have won wage increases of up to 40 per cent, averting a strike. The workers' union, Unite Here Local 40, says in a statement the new deal was reached after mediation with the employer at the BC Labour Board.
The number of active wildfires in British Columbia has dipped below 450 as cooler weather and recent rain has cut the fire risk, although another hot spell could wipe out those gains as large sections of the province wilt under severe drought.
Two-thirds of cabinet portfolios have switched hands, with seven rookie ministers coming in to replace the seven ministers who are leaving. Five of the new ministers represent constituencies in Ontario, one is from British Columbia and one from Quebec.