Canada

Comparing Canadian and U.S. Metropolitan Areas

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Canada and the United States are among a minority of national governments that formally designate metropolitan areas. Metropolitan areas are labor and housing markets which include a core urban area (built up or developed area) as well as rural territory  read more »

Remote and Hybrid Work Continues Appeal in the US and Canada

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Despite the continuing pressure from employers for employees to work on-site, working from home continues at a strong pace. Just released data from WFH Research indicates that 41.3% of US workers worked at home at least part of the time between March and June 2023.  read more »

Solving the Global Housing Crisis

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The global housing crisis across the high-income world, particularly in the Anglosphere, represents perhaps the single biggest challenge to the future of the middle class.  read more »

Danielle Smith's Pro-Growth Rebellion is a Sign of Things to Come

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Canada, even more than the United States, stands at the edge of a great historic opportunity. As worldwide demand for raw materials  read more »

Calgary City Council: Reimagining the CBD

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In a previous post, I commented on the difficulties faced by the Calgary CBD (downtown), with its huge office vacancies resulting from the mid-decade oil bust  read more »

Canadians Are on the Move, to Smaller Communities

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For decades, Canadians moved to the larger cities (census metropolitan areas, or CMAs) with their economic opportunities.  read more »

North America Has An Opportunity to Lead the World

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For generations, pundits the world over have insisted that the future will be forged elsewhere — Europe for some, Japan for others and, more recently, China. Yet, in reality, the United States and Canada may well be best positioned for a changing world, if our leaders can leverage our natural advantages.  read more »

Cities Have to Expand for House Prices to Fall

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The Ford government’s plan to expand the land supply available for housing has evoked the usual dog whistles about “urban sprawl” by interests apparently unaware of the strong connections between an organically expanding city, housing affordability and upward mobility.  read more »

The Rural Character of Canada's Metropolitan Areas (CMAs)

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There is considerable confusion with respect to the terms of urban geography, not only among the population in general, but also among the media, and sadly, among academics. Perhaps the greatest confusion is between the terms “metropolitan area” and “urban area.”  read more »

To Embrace Immigration, Canada Must Reject Trudeau's Racialized Policies

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Recent government moves to increase immigration to 1.2 million over the next three years reflects both a hopeful sign for Canada’s future, but also potential impact. Along with immigration’s many benefits, we could see the intensification of racialism and identity politics, the kind that is threatening to tear apart an already deeply divided United States.  read more »