One of the clearest effects of slowing population growth has been in real estate on the rental market, said Shelly Kaushik, senior economist at BMO Capital Markets, in an interview.

Newcomers, such as temporary foreign workers and international students, show up in very specific areas of the economy, she explained, and this is one of them.

“One of the fastest effects we’ve seen is deceleration in rental prices across the country, but especially in places like Ontario and (British Columbia), where there is and was certainly a larger share of international students coming into the country,” she said.

...

A drop in demand for rental units has also begun trickling into the overall housing market.

Smaller properties, such as condos, are now seeing a glut of inventory of new builds, but there are hardly any buyers, because renting out the units is a riskier proposition than it was a few years ago.

...

There has also been a slowdown in investor activity in the housing market, which would be a drag on home building this year, he said.

“You’re getting this period of a real stagnation in the housing market through this year and into next year, in part driven by population,” Ercolao said.

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. last month reported the agency’s six-month moving average for annual starts declined 3.5 per cent for the fourth consecutive month.

But the effects of slowing population growth haven’t been the same across all housing types.

“Detached (housing) market isn’t seeing as much of an effect since a very small share of newcomers to Canada aren’t really engaged in that part of the market,” Ercolao said.

In January, Alberta premier Danielle Smith issued an extraordinary threat. Unless Prime Minister Mark Carney gave Alberta more influence over judicial appointments, her government would withhold funding from the courts. In an open letter, Smith argued she wanted judges who reflected Alberta’s “distinct legal traditions”—though what those traditions are is unclear. Canada’s system is straightforward: provinces run the courts, Ottawa appoints the judges. This left many observers wondering, “Can she even do that?”

Smith is no stranger to that line of questioning nor to the idea that Alberta should play by different rules. Since becoming premier in 2022, Smith has made it her mission to carve out greater independence for the province, and her demands are only getting bolder. Her Alberta Sovereignty Within a United Canada Act, passed in December 2022, allows the province to refuse to enforce certain federal laws it considers harmful to Alberta. Critics have widely condemned the measure—unprecedented in Canadian politics—as unconstitutional.

On February 19, Smith unveiled a slate of referendum questions for an October vote aimed at expanding provincial autonomy. She proposes unilaterally tightening immigration and access to services in Alberta—restricting benefits for temporary residents and requiring proof of citizenship to vote. These powers aren’t exclusively within the purview of the province, but immigration lawyer Randy Hahn told the Globe and Mail Smith’s position should be understood as a “negotiating tactic.” She also proposes sweeping constitutional changes that would shift power from Parliament to the provinces, including scrapping the Senate, opting out of federal programs with funding intact, and giving provincial laws priority over federal ones. To be sure, these changes require consent from other provinces to implement and could very well set up a showdown with the federal government.

What do you think guys? Which important milestones have they missed?

We are finally talking about this now eh? I lost a cousin over 12 years ago, vanished into thin air. Nobody cared. Especially the RCMP. Much like all these guys. A few posters and a lazy facebook post was all my beloved cousin ever got.

My favourite part of the article is this:

National statistics reflect a severe and often overlooked reality regarding violence against Indigenous men:

Between 1980 and 2012, Statistics Canada documented 1,750 Indigenous male homicide victims, compared to 745 Indigenous female homicide victims.

In this timeframe, 71% of all murdered and missing Indigenous people were men and boys.

According to 2020 Statistics Canada data, Indigenous men are seven times more likely to die by homicide than non-Indigenous people, and four times more likely than Indigenous women.

We hear so much about missing indigenous women. I had no idea the stat for men was 4 times higher. Why doesn't anyone care?

There is almost certainly an active serial killer operating on the mid island for years now, and I hear random people saying this more and more. Sadly we are on our own over here it seems.

A coalition of 31 local, regional and national media outlets from across Canada Unrigged.ca is a news platform that provides up-to-the-hour news from across the country.

Unrigged.ca offers Canadians a place to access the latest news, podcasts, features, op/eds.

A collaboration between non-profit outlets designed to benefit readers and promote news, the website continuously monitors sites and feeds of its members.

• The four most commonly diagnosed cancers (lung, breast, prostate and colorectal cancers) are expected to account for about 48% of all cancers diagnosed in 2025.

• It is estimated that 42% of people in Canada will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime

• Quebec is expected to have the highest cancer incidence rate. British Columbia is expected to have the lowest cancer incidence rate of all the provinces.

• In the early 1990s, five-year net survival for all cancers combined was only 55%, but estimates show that it has reached 64%.

https://cdn.cancer.ca/-/media/files/cancer-information/resources/publications/canadian-cancer-statistics-2025/2025_pdf_final_en.pdf

Prime Minister Mark Carney has called byelections in the Toronto ridings of University-Rosedale and Scarborough Southwest and the Quebec riding of Terrebonne — races the Liberals will want to win to secure a thin majority government.

The byelections will be held on April 13, according to a news release posted on the prime minister's website Sunday morning. 

Bill C-3, which came into effect Dec. 15, removes the first-generation limit to citizenship

A new piece from CBC on the coming into force of the legislative changes to Canadian citizenship by descent.

A couple of interesting points from further down the article:

Vermette says many Franco-Americans have long felt invisible on both sides of the border.

He believes Bill C-3 presents Quebec with a unique opportunity to repatriate or reclaim those who feel a connection to the province’s culture and language, even amid heightened controversy surrounding immigration and pressures linked to cultural and linguistic preservation.

"The Franco-American population is an untapped natural resource for Quebec," he said. . .

In a statement to CBC, the IRCC said it does not have an exact estimate of how many people might be affected by Bill C-3, but says it expects tens of thousands of requests for Canadian citizenship certificates over time. 

According to the IRCC website, at the beginning of March, almost 48,000 people were waiting for a decision pertaining to their certificate application, with an estimated processing time of 11 months.

Overthrow your own governments, then talk

https://lemmy.ml/comment/24384826

credit @hamid@crazypeople.online

Britain’s role in the recent machinations of the US empire has been central, despite going underreported and little criticised. Britain has a significant hand in the ongoing US war of aggression against Iran and their recent invasion of Venezuela. Britain’s empire and overseas bases, and associated intelligence and surveillance capabilities, are cornerstones of its contribution to these ongoing wars.