Impact analysis

Updates and observations on key data, especially relating to the economy, housing construction and health care.

  • BC now building 2.5 times more housing than Ontario, adjusted for size

    The British Columbia government led by NDP Premier David Eby is now spurring construction of 150% more housing units per resident than Doug Ford’s PC government in Ontario, according to data from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. An analysis of CMHC data for March 2024 shows construction started on 87.2 new housing units in British

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  • February building permit data shows Eby’s housing boom, Ford plan a bust

    April 10, 2024 British Columbia, about 35 per cent of Ontario’s population, in February issued building permits anticipating about 52 per cent as many housing units as Ontario, according to data released by Statistics Canada today. The building permits data points to an intensified housing crisis in Ontario while hope may be appearing on the

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  • Ford PCs’ housing starts shrink as BC NDP’s new homes soar

    Ontario housing starts continued to shrink in February, with the province’s construction workers beginning seven per cent fewer housing units in February 2024 compared to twelve months earlier, data shows The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation released its report for February on March 15. Last month’s housing unit starts shrank eight per cent from February

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  • Housing starts continue to fall in Ontario, says CMHC data

    February was another month of abysmal housing starts in Ontario, according to Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation data released Friday Only 6,488 housing units were started in Ontario during February 2024, down seven per cent from the 6,980 starts begun in February 2023 Ontario’s February housing starts was only 52 per cent of the monthly

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  • Ontario EI claims rise fastest in Canada as jobs slump grips

    The number of Ontarians receiving EI benefits increased 32 per cent in the past year, according to seasonally adjusted data from Statistics Canada released Thursday. 35,000 more on EI than one year ago Over 140,000 Ontarians were on EI benefits in December, 2023, almost 35,000 more than one year ago when about 106,000 people were

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  • Ontario housing starts continue slump, widening housing supply gap

    February 16, 2024 – Ontario’s housing policies again last month failed to spur the housing starts necessary bring balance to the market, according to data from the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation released Thursday. The Ontario government’s own Housing Affordability Task Force found the province, beginning January 2022, needed to start construction on an average

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  • Continued Ontario jobs downturn signals trouble for housing, health care, unions

    February 15, 2024 – January declines in Ontario full time and private sector jobs contributed to a continued jobs slide that has eliminated 233,300 jobs since July, according to Statistics Canada data released last Friday. The continued jobs losses come as labour force participation edges down among Ontario’s growing population. 329,800 full times jobs lost

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  • Ford admits Ontario has a housing crisis. Data says it might be him.

    February 7, 2024 — Despite announcements, re-announcements and reverse announcements, Ontario’s PC government is further from bringing balance to the housing and rental markets than in 2022, when the PCs promised their policies would spur construction of 1.5 million housing units by 2031. Ontario’s poor outcomes stand in sharp contrast with results in British Columbia,

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  • GDP data sends worrying signal about key Ontario industries

    Jan 31, 2024 — Canada’s real gross domestic product edged up 0.2% in November, but two industries key to Ontario’s economy, manufacturing and residential housing construction, continue to lag from industry peaks, according to data today released by Statistics Canada. The Statistics Canada report doesn’t provide provincial breakdowns and is based on 2017 constant dollars.

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  • BC’s housing push paying off with 36% more residential construction jobs than Canadian average

    British Columbia is grabbing headlines for setting housing construction records, but the Eby government policies are also creating a lot of paycheques for BC construction workers, Statistics Canada data shows. The BC industry started construction on 87.2 housing units per 100,000 population in March, a rate significantly above every other Canadian province, according to data

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