
Winners and losers from Ottawa’s new mortgage rules
Millennials crying foul over sky-high home prices in the big city are being dealt another blow – within two weeks it will be a lot harder to get a mortgage. The first-time homebuyer is a key casualty of Ottawa’s latest attempt to take some risk out of the country’s housing markets, but those young Canadians aren’t alone. Non-bank lenders will see an important source of funding dry up as a result of further tightening by Finance Minister Bill Morneau. As one mortgage market ob

How principal-residence tax changes will affect every Canadian homeowner
Earlier this week, Finance Minister Bill Morneau introduced tax changes that were aimed primarily at foreign investors in Canadian real estate to ensure they abide by our existing tax rules. But the changes also catch many Canadian residents who, in the past, have often inadvertently escaped paying tax on their principal residences. The tax rules around principal residences are so complex that many Canadians simply don’t recognize when they might owe tax when they sell a prop

Four major changes to Canada’s housing rules
The Liberal government has announced sweeping changes aimed at ensuring Canadians aren’t taking on bigger mortgages than they can afford in an era of historically low interest rates. The changes are also meant to address concerns related to foreign buyers who buy and flip Canadian homes. Below is a breakdown of the four major changes Finance Minister Bill Morneau announced Monday. The current rules Buyers with a down payment of at least 5 per cent of the purchase price but le

The rise of Pentagon North: How Ottawa's new DND headquarters will change this city
Six years after the federal government purchased Nortel’s former R&D campus in the west end of Ottawa, the Department of National Defence is finally preparing to move in. Citizen reporters James Bagnall and David Pugliese examine one of the largest corporate relocations in Canadian history and explain what it will mean for Canada’s military and the national capital region. On a hot August day in Ottawa’s west end, construction crews are banishing the ghosts of Nortel Networks