Since Davide Mastracci, The Maple’s opinion editor, updated our resource listing all Canadian MPs who are landlords or invested in real estate in some way, we’ve published several articles analyzing and responding to the information.
As we made clear in our very first article examining this data, there are vast differences in the extent to which some of the MPs who met the criteria to be included in the resource are involved in real estate. Some have spouses who own vacant lots of farm land, while others personally own long lists of rental properties and other investment interests.
Of course, it is tricky to quantify and compare exactly how much each MP is invested in real estate. This is partly because the disclosure reports on which the resource is based are inconsistent in terms of the specificity of the information provided. As well, the exact value and size of each rental property and real estate investment is not disclosed in the public reports.
However, there are clearly some MPs with much larger real estate investment portfolios than others, meaning they have a direct material interest in rents and property values continuing to rise, amid a nationwide housing crisis, that is materially larger than other MPs whose names appear in the resource.
To identify MPs with particularly large interests in the real estate market, we counted the total number of real estate assets or interests that each MP disclosed, and from those with the largest portfolios, we narrowed down to a handful of MPs who appeared to have particularly extensive and wide-ranging interests in the real estate market. This, of course, involved a degree of subjective analysis.
Therefore, it is important to stress that the MPs listed below are not ranked in any particular order. It is also worth noting that none of the MPs listed below responded to Davide’s recent request for comment about their disclosures.
With those caveats out of the way, here is a selection of 10 Canadian MPs with particularly large interests in the real estate market. The disclosure for each MP is copied from the resource, with additional notes added in some cases.
Marty Morantz
Notes: Morantz is the Conservative MP for Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia—Headingley. His real estate disclosure report is far and away the longest among all Canadian MPs.
“Joint ownership with an individual of a residential rental property located on Wellington Crescent in Winnipeg, Manitoba”
“Joint ownership with multiple persons and corporations of two commercial rental properties located on Academy Road in Winnipeg, Manitoba”
“Joint ownership with multiple individuals and corporations of multi-unit residential rental properties in Edmonton, Alberta located on: – 144 B Avenue North West – 121 Street North West”
“Joint ownership with multiple individuals and corporations of multi-unit residential rental properties in Winnipeg, Manitoba located on: – Mayfair Avenue – Guelph Street – Setter Street – St. Michael Road – Ronald Street (2 properties) – Munroe Avenue (3 properties) – Beliveau Road (3 properties) – Pembina Highway (4 properties)”
“Artis Real Estate Investment Trust Units”
“Last and next 12 months: rental income”
“Jernat holdings Ltd., a company in which I own a controlling interest, is a co-owner of a property located in Winnipeg that leases commercial space to Public Works and Government Services Canada”
“Controlling interest in Jernat Holdings Ltd., a real estate holding and rental company in Winnipeg, Manitoba”
“Controlling interest in Jernat Investments Ltd., a real estate commission financing company in Winnipeg, Manitoba”
“Significant interest in Levmor Mortgage Corporation, a mortgage company in Winnipeg, Manitoba”
“Limited partnership units in LS Properties (Kildonan Crossing in Winnipeg, Manitoba)”
“President and Director of: – Jernat Holdings Ltd. – Jernat Investments Ltd. – Levmor Mortgage Corp.”
Notes: It’s worth highlighting that Liberal MP Noormohamed’s disclosure doesn’t actually specify the number of rental properties he owns in Vancouver, the most expensive real estate market in the country. We do know that in the run-up to the last federal election, he came under fire after it was revealed that he sold at least 21 properties within a year of buying them since 2005. He bought and sold an additional 30 after less than two years of ownership during the same period. This practice, known as “house flipping,” is a contributing factor to the housing crisis. It also made Noormohamed $4.9 million in profit, according to NEWS 1130.
“Nominal interest in Immeubles Q-Mont (II) Industrial Properties L.P., a real estate business”
“Sole ownership of rental properties located Vancouver, British Columbia”
“Last 12 months: Rental income from rental properties”
“Next 12 months: Rental income from rental properties”
“Significant interest in 1310672 BC Ltd., a real estate holding company, which owns one property in Vancouver, British Columbia”
“Sole ownership of duplex rental property located on Manor Street, Burnaby, British Columbia”
“Sole ownership of four rental units located on Rosewood Street, Burnaby, British Columbia”
“Sole ownership of a rental property located on 40th Avenue, Surrey, British Columbia”
“Last and next 12 months: Rental income from properties”
“Controlling interest in Grand Fairway Development Inc. that holds a nominal interest in 1041672 B.C. Ltd, a real estate holding and rental company in Surrey, British Columbia”
“Controlling interest in 687495 B.C. Ltd., a real estate holding and rental company in Surrey, British Columbia”
“Co-signer on behalf of Dhaliwal & Associates Land Surveying Inc., with another individual, of a mortgage with the Canadian Western Bank for two investment properties”
“Sole ownership of Dhaliwal & Associates Land Surveying Inc., which is joint owner with another company of two investment properties”
“Sole ownership of Genco Engineering Consultants Inc., which is the sole owner of 0711677 B.C. Ltd., a real estate holding company that has: – a nominal interest in 0711634 B.C. Ltd., a real estate joint venture company; – a nominal interest in 0996756 B.C. Ltd., a real estate holding company; – a nominal interest in 0636535 B.C. Ltd., a real estate holding company .”
“Sole ownership of 596426 B.C. Ltd., a real estate holding company that: – is the sole owner of 619525 B.C. Ltd., a real estate holding company, which together have a significant interest in 686967 B.C. Ltd., a real estate holding company; – has a nominal interest in Sproutly Canada Inc.” (spouse/common law)
“Nominal interest in Westland Developments Ltd., a construction company that owns an investment property” (spouse/common law)
“President, Secretary, and Director of 619525 B.C. Ltd., a real estate holding company” (spouse/common law)
“President and Director of 596426 B.C. Ltd., a real estate holding company” (spouse/common law)
“Secretary and Director of 686967 B.C. Ltd., a real estate holding company” (spouse/common law)
OTTAWA – The Canadian Real Estate Association says the number of homes sold in August fell compared with a year ago as the market remained largely stuck in a holding pattern despite borrowing costs beginning to come down.
The association says the number of homes sold in August fell 2.1 per cent compared with the same month last year.
On a seasonally adjusted month-over-month basis, national home sales edged up 1.3 per cent from July.
CREA senior economist Shaun Cathcart says that with forecasts of lower interest rates throughout the rest of this year and into 2025, “it makes sense that prospective buyers might continue to hold off for improved affordability, especially since prices are still well behaved in most of the country.”
The national average sale price for August amounted to $649,100, a 0.1 per cent increase compared with a year earlier.
The number of newly listed properties was up 1.1 per cent month-over-month.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
MONTREAL – Two Quebec real estate brokers are facing fines and years-long suspensions for submitting bogus offers on homes to drive up prices during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Christine Girouard has been suspended for 14 years and her business partner, Jonathan Dauphinais-Fortin, has been suspended for nine years after Quebec’s authority of real estate brokerage found they used fake bids to get buyers to raise their offers.
Girouard is a well-known broker who previously starred on a Quebec reality show that follows top real estate agents in the province.
She is facing a fine of $50,000, while Dauphinais-Fortin has been fined $10,000.
The two brokers were suspended in May 2023 after La Presse published an article about their practices.
One buyer ended up paying $40,000 more than his initial offer in 2022 after Girouard and Dauphinais-Fortin concocted a second bid on the house he wanted to buy.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
MONTREAL – The Quebec Professional Association of Real Estate Brokers says Montreal-area home sales rose 9.3 per cent in August compared with the same month last year, with levels slightly higher than the historical average for this time of year.
The association says home sales in the region totalled 2,991 for the month, up from 2,737 in August 2023.
The median price for all housing types was up year-over-year, led by a six per cent increase for the price of a plex at $763,000 last month.
The median price for a single-family home rose 5.2 per cent to $590,000 and the median price for a condominium rose 4.4 per cent to $407,100.
QPAREB market analysis director Charles Brant says the strength of the Montreal resale market contrasts with declines in many other Canadian cities struggling with higher levels of household debt, lower savings and diminishing purchasing power.
Active listings for August jumped 18 per cent compared with a year earlier to 17,200, while new listings rose 1.7 per cent to 4,840.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 6, 2024.
