Skip to main content

Featured

5 Things to Know Today — June 21, 2026

  Whether you're starting your week or wrapping up your weekend, here are the five Canadian money stories shaping your financial picture right now. 1 Canada Is Technically in a Recession — And the Political Fight Is On Canada's GDP contracted 0.1% on an annualized basis in Q1 2026, following a 1% decline in Q4 2025 — two consecutive quarters of negative growth that meet the textbook definition of a technical recession. Prime Minister Mark Carney has called it a "settling-in period" tied to his government's restructuring of the economy in response to the U.S. trade war. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has been relentless in his counter-offensive, pointing to rising insolvencies, job losses and food bank usage as proof that the downturn is real, not technical. Many economists, including BMO's chief economist Douglas Porter, have noted that a future revision to Statistics Canada's data could erase the slim 0.1% contraction — meaning this may not ultimate...

article

Toronto Housing Market Cools Down as Interest Rates Heat Up

 


The Toronto housing market has experienced a sharp slowdown in October 2023, as the high interest rates that have been pressuring the market show little sign of easing. According to the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board The benchmark price of a home in Canada’s largest city fell to C$1.13 million ($815,000) in October, down 1.7% from September, the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board said Thursday. That’s the third straight monthly drop and the fastest pace of decline in 15 months.

The number of sales also dropped 5% from the previous month, to 4,867 transactions, comparable to the deep market freeze of December and January. The TRREB predicts that activity will not rebound over the remainder of the year, as the Bank of Canada repeatedly says that it is prepared to raise interest rates above the current 5% if inflation remains high.

The high interest rates have made borrowing more expensive and reduced the affordability of homeownership for many potential buyers. The TRREB says that the average monthly mortgage payment for a typical home in Toronto has increased by 25% since January 2023, while the average household income has only increased by 2%.

The cooling of the Toronto housing market is in contrast to the national trend, which saw home sales and prices increase slightly in October, according to the Canadian Real Estate Association. However, some analysts warn that the national figures may not reflect the true state of the market, as they are skewed by the strong performance of some smaller markets, such as Halifax and Montreal.

The TRREB says that it expects the Toronto housing market to remain subdued in the near term, as buyers and sellers adjust to the new reality of higher interest rates. However, it also says that there are still some positive factors that support the long-term outlook for the market, such as strong population growth, low unemployment, and high demand for housing.


Comments