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Immigration of high earners is destroying Canada. Housing prices in Toronto and Vancouver and many other desirable metros are absolutely exploding, and they kee

Immigration of high earners is destroying Canada. Housing prices in Toronto and Vancouver and many other desirable metros are absolutely exploding, and they keep importing more high earners and boosting competition. America’s housing crisis is not yet so bad, but I think a housing crisis should be taken into consideration with any immigration. Imagine if it were easy to get an H1B, but you are restricted to work for some number of years in a state that actually wants more people (aka not New York or California).

einszwei 4y ago
The problem with Canada is their housing market is open to foreign buyers and probably used for money laundering.
zaptheimpaler 4y ago
No, this is the rhetoric that one political side pushes because it's convenient. Meanwhile the data shows almost all the housing is owned by either Canadian citizens or corporations. It also shows Canada will rely exclusively on immigrants for population growth by 2030 - it would end up with an aging population and no one to pay the taxes supporting pensions if they didn't. Most of Vancouver is zoned for single/dual families only so it's impossible to construct more housing. Of course prices rise when they don't let supply rise to match demand
- mardifoufs 4y ago
  You can become a canadian citizen 3 years after getting your PR, usually. It would make sense for high earners to wait a few years before buying, and by that time they are already citizens. I might be completely wrong, but I just don't see how citizenship of the owners really disprove anything.
- whimsicalism 4y ago
  It's not just a question of ownership if you consider the pricing of rental substitutes and how that impacts the pricing of owning.
- thehappypm 4y ago
  Sure, immigrants initially rent. That puts a massive upward pressure on rents, which in turn increases housing value. It’s so easy to become a Canadian citizen that when these folks do buy they’re citizens in just a few years.
namlem 4y ago
No, NIMBYism is destroying Canada. What's needed is to lift restrictions on new housing construction. Abolish parking minimums, floor area ratios, setback requirements, etc.
- whimsicalism 4y ago
  The reason NIMBYism doesn't work to lower housing prices is because you can't just pass a law that says "don't rent/buy here." With immigration, you literally can pass that law so my guess is that it would have some impact on easing demand.
- thehappypm 4y ago
  NIMBYism wouldn’t be as much of a problem if the housing supply didn’t need to expand. Canada has about triple the immigration rate of the US, about 1% population growth each year. That population growth is concentrated in top metros as well (obviously — people immigrate to where the jobs are). This policy means that housing supply should also grow 1% per year which is appearing to be extremely difficult
  - namlem 4y ago
    Canada is a major producer of construction materials. The reason growing housing supply is difficult is because of artificial legal restrictions imposed by NIMBYs.

einszwei 4y ago

The problem with Canada is their housing market is open to foreign buyers and probably used for money laundering.

zaptheimpaler 4y ago

No, this is the rhetoric that one political side pushes because it's convenient. Meanwhile the data shows almost all the housing is owned by either Canadian citizens or corporations. It also shows Canada will rely exclusively on immigrants for population growth by 2030 - it would end up with an aging population and no one to pay the taxes supporting pensions if they didn't. Most of Vancouver is zoned for single/dual families only so it's impossible to construct more housing. Of course prices rise when they don't let supply rise to match demand

mardifoufs 4y ago
You can become a canadian citizen 3 years after getting your PR, usually. It would make sense for high earners to wait a few years before buying, and by that time they are already citizens. I might be completely wrong, but I just don't see how citizenship of the owners really disprove anything.
whimsicalism 4y ago
It's not just a question of ownership if you consider the pricing of rental substitutes and how that impacts the pricing of owning.
thehappypm 4y ago
Sure, immigrants initially rent. That puts a massive upward pressure on rents, which in turn increases housing value. It’s so easy to become a Canadian citizen that when these folks do buy they’re citizens in just a few years.

namlem 4y ago

No, NIMBYism is destroying Canada. What's needed is to lift restrictions on new housing construction. Abolish parking minimums, floor area ratios, setback requirements, etc.

whimsicalism 4y ago
The reason NIMBYism doesn't work to lower housing prices is because you can't just pass a law that says "don't rent/buy here." With immigration, you literally can pass that law so my guess is that it would have some impact on easing demand.
thehappypm 4y ago
NIMBYism wouldn’t be as much of a problem if the housing supply didn’t need to expand. Canada has about triple the immigration rate of the US, about 1% population growth each year. That population growth is concentrated in top metros as well (obviously — people immigrate to where the jobs are). This policy means that housing supply should also grow 1% per year which is appearing to be extremely difficult
- namlem 4y ago
  Canada is a major producer of construction materials. The reason growing housing supply is difficult is because of artificial legal restrictions imposed by NIMBYs.