Statistics Canada released the October Labour Force Survey this morning, reporting a slowdown in employment growth from the blockbuster pace of recent months. While some commentators were disappointed in the results, I have a more positive take. Canada returned its pre-pandemic level of employment in September ahead of the US and other G-7 countries. The […]

Can I afford my payments comfortably today? Taking a look at where we are today will help us prepare for inflation and protect you from being vulnerable. You may be able to modify your payment or find savings within a budget review. Can I afford to increase my payments now even if rates do not […]

The Province of BC is in the process on introducing new legislation that requires “cooling off” periods for resale properties and newly built homes. The introduction of a “cooling off” period for all purchase transactions would mean the end of non-subject offers. Non-subject offers have been extremely common in this insanely competitive real estate market […]

Government of BC | Ministry of Municipal Affairs | Tuesday, October 26, 2021 People in B.C. communities will benefit from legislative amendments that give local governments more powers to simplify and speed up their development approvals processes, helping to get the homes people need built faster. “We are working with local governments, the development sector […]

A new study from Royal LePage has found that homeowners who can afford 20% down payments are much better off in the long run than renters. In fact, buying a home in Canada with an uninsured mortgage puts homeowners ahead of renters in 91% of cases analyzed. “Canadians strongly value homeownership for many reasons. Not […]

The latest Bank of Canada announcement brought some new changes to the market. We’ll attempt to answer some of the pressing questions people may have regarding these latest updates.  Why are 5 year fixed rates going up? This is a result of the banks halting the purchase of bonds.  Prior to the latest updates, the […]

The Bank of Canada today held its target for the overnight rate at the effective lower bound of ¼ percent, with the Bank Rate at ½ percent and the deposit rate at ¼ percent. The Bank’s extraordinary forward guidance on the path for the overnight rate is being maintained. The Bank is ending quantitative easing […]

Bank of Canada Responds To Mounting Inflation: Ends QE and Hastens Timing of Rate Hike The Bank of Canada surprised markets today with a more hawkish stance on inflation and the economy. The Bank released its widely anticipated October Monetary Policy Report (MPR) in which its key messages were: The Canadian economy has accelerated robustly […]

On October 14, 2021, Mortgage Professionals Canada hosted its national conference featuring presentations by several industry leaders. During the Lenders’ Panel, First National’s President and Chief Operating Officer Jason Ellis provided his thoughts on the mortgage market, planned government policy changes to improve affordability, and lessons learned during the pandemic. Here are some of Jason’s […]

Women often play a large role in their households’ financial decisions, and that includes making investment decisions. Unfortunately, a recent Primerica study found that women’s financial confidence has decreased over the past year, largely due to the coronavirus pandemic’s disproportionate impact on the financial health of many women. Given this dip in confidence, it’s more […]