At least 65 Canadian members of Parliament hold rental or investment real estate assets, according to their filings with the federal conflict of interest commissioner.
However, that number may actually be much higher because 91 MPs either have not yet completed their disclosure process or the conflict of interest commissioner’s office hasn’t yet published their filings.
All of that is legal and all of the MPs disclosing the assets have fulfilled their duties under Canadian conflict of interest laws to report their assets to the federal conflict of interest commissioner.
Among the 91 MPs whose disclosures are not yet public are Liberal MP Taleeb Noormohamed, who faced criticism in the last election for flipping dozens of properties, and Conservative leadership candidate Pierre Poilievre.
2:33 Politicians doubling as landlords while governments are pushed for affordable housing solutions
Politicians doubling as landlords while governments are pushed for affordable housing solutions
According to the available filings, at least 42 Liberal MPs own rental or investment real estate assets, such as rental or investment properties, real estate holding companies, vacant land, recreational properties, or income from or significant interests in real estate brokerages.
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Of those 42, 30 are not in cabinet, while 12 are the members of cabinet whose holdings were previously reported on by Global News last week.
2:14 Canadian home prices could rise 15% in 2022: Royal LePage
Canadian home prices could rise 15% in 2022: Royal LePage
In total, according to publicly available data listed on the registry, those 30 Liberal MPs own a total of 38 properties listed as being for rental or investment purposes. They also disclosed a range of other real estate assets including ownership of real estate holding companies, income from real estate brokerages, or either “controlling” or “significant” interests in brokerages.
Those 42 Liberals who disclosed rental or investment real estate represent 26 per cent of the caucus.
In comparison, at least 16 per cent of the Conservative caucus — 19 MPs — disclosed owning rental or investment real estate, including vacant land, farmland that is being leased out, residential rental properties or commercial rental properties as well as real estate holding companies.
The biggest property owner by far is Conservative MP Marty Morantz, with a total of 21 properties.
Morantz disclosed joint ownership of five residential rental properties in Winnipeg, Man., as well as of 12 multi-unit residential rental properties in the same city.
He also disclosed joint ownership of two multi-unit residential rental properties in Edmonton, Alta., and two commercial rental properties also in Winnipeg.
Conservative MP Mike Lake disclosed joint ownership of two rental properties in southwestern Ontario, as well as sole ownership of a rental property in Ottawa and a rental duplex in Edmonton.
Global News
Alistair MacGregor was the only NDP MP to disclose joint ownership of a rental property on Vancouver Island, while Matthew Green disclosed sole ownership of a real estate holding company.
Rhéal Fortin from the Bloc Quebecois disclosed sole ownership of a rental property in Saint-Sauveur, Que., while no independent or Green MPs disclosed any rental or investment real estate assets to date.
The numbers do not include MPs who hold multiple mortgages if they did not list those as being for rental or investment purposes. They also do not include MPs such as the NDP’s Alexandre Boulerice who disclosed that his spouse, but not him, owns a rental property in Montreal.
5:02 Flipping homes for big profits is pricing some buyers out of the market
Flipping homes for big profits is pricing some buyers out of the market – Mar 31, 2022
“In our current cultural context, there is no problem with someone buying another home and treating it as a rental property. That has been a common part of Canadian culture these days,” said Paul Kershaw, founder of Generation Squeeze.
He noted, though, that when politicians talk about financialization — the trend of viewing real estate as an investment vehicle rather than a place to live — they are leaving out part of the conversation by focusing on corporate players like companies, pension trusts and real estate investment trusts.
“It also happens more at the regular, everyday person level.”
According to a Bank of Canada analysis earlier this year, home purchases by investors have outpaced those of first-time homebuyers or even repeat homebuyers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Investors account for one-fifth of home purchases in Canada, that analysis found, while the share of purchases by first-time homebuyers hit a new low last year.
Will anti-flipping tax, foreign buyers ban help?
Canadian governments of all levels are facing mounting pressure to act as the country grapples with a major housing crunch spawning red-hot home prices, soaring rents, and dimming hopes for a generation hit hard by the 2008 financial crash, the COVID-19 pandemic, and now the current frenzy.
Wages — and savings — too often simply cannot keep up.
Coupled with soaring costs of living, the issue of housing unaffordability and its spillover effects on Millennials and younger Canadians has smashed into the political realities of NIMBY-ism and the financialization of Canadian real estate.
Financialization is a term increasingly being used in reference to investors buying up real estate — typically residential real estate that could otherwise serve as starter homes or affordable rental units — and then treating those as financial assets to generate profit, either through resale or raising rents.
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland pointed to the sky-high home prices fuelled by the financialization of housing as an “intergenerational injustice” earlier this month.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also pointed the finger at the trend.
“We will be cracking down on the financialization of the housing market,” Trudeau said on April 8 during a press conference about the promises in the budget. “Houses aren’t supposed to be assets for wealthy investors, they’re supposed to be homes where families can raise their kids.”
He also added: “When foreign investors and corporations use housing as an asset, it drives prices higher and higher and makes homes out of reach for the middle class.”
But when asked on Tuesday what he would say to the 30 per cent of his cabinet ministers — and dozens of caucus members — who are also using real estate as an investment, he appeared to defend them.
“I think there are a lot of people across the country who have rental properties as part of their retirement plans, as part of their lives. Lots of Canadians need to rent,” he said.
“What we’re cracking down on is the fact there are foreign investors and big corporations that buy homes in Canada and then just let them sit, and bid up the prices so that they get more and more expensive, and use them as an asset class for revenue for people who have a lot of money.”
2:14 Budget 2022: Will feds be able to deliver on housing affordability?
Budget 2022: Will feds be able to deliver on housing affordability? – Apr 8, 2022
The federal Liberals promised actions in the budget such as an anti-flipping tax for residential properties resold within 12 months, along with a two-year ban on foreign buyers and a homebuyer’s bill of rights.
Those had formed a central plank in the party’s 2021 campaign platform, amid a race that saw one of their own candidates under scrutiny for flipping properties.
CityNews reported in August 2021 that Taleeb Noormohamed, who won the Vancouver-Granville riding, had “bought and sold at least 21 homes within a year of buying them since 2005.”
The NDP later released a statement suggested Noormohamed had made $5 million since 2005 on the sale of 41 properties in the province, citing BC Assessment property sale records.
Global News asked Noormohamed on Tuesday whether he has sold any properties that he has owned for 12 months or less, or purchased any properties that he does not intend to live in, since being elected.
A spokesperson for Noormohamed said he has done neither and that he will approve the publication of his submitted disclosures to the conflict of interest commissioner once the process is done.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was down more than 200 points in late-morning trading, weighed down by losses in the technology, base metal and energy sectors, while U.S. stock markets also fell.
The S&P/TSX composite index was down 239.24 points at 22,749.04.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 312.36 points at 40,443.39. The S&P 500 index was down 80.94 points at 5,422.47, while the Nasdaq composite was down 380.17 points at 16,747.49.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.80 cents US compared with 74.00 cents US on Thursday.
The October crude oil contract was down US$1.07 at US$68.08 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up less than a penny at US$2.26 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was down US$2.10 at US$2,541.00 an ounce and the December copper contract was down four cents at US$4.10 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 6, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 150 points in late-morning trading, helped by strength in technology, financial and energy stocks, while U.S. stock markets also pushed higher.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 171.41 points at 23,298.39.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 278.37 points at 41,369.79. The S&P 500 index was up 38.17 points at 5,630.35, while the Nasdaq composite was up 177.15 points at 17,733.18.
The Canadian dollar traded for 74.19 cents US compared with 74.23 cents US on Wednesday.
The October crude oil contract was up US$1.75 at US$76.27 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up less than a penny at US$2.10 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$18.70 at US$2,556.50 an ounce and the December copper contract was down less than a penny at US$4.22 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 29, 2024.
The crypto market has recently experienced a significant downturn, mirroring broader risk asset sell-offs. Over the past week, Bitcoin’s price dropped by 24%, reaching $53,000, while Ethereum plummeted nearly a third to $2,340. Major altcoins also suffered, with Cardano down 27.7%, Solana 36.2%, Dogecoin 34.6%, XRP 23.1%, Shiba Inu 30.1%, and BNB 25.7%.
The severe downturn in the crypto market appears to be part of a broader flight to safety, triggered by disappointing economic data. A worse-than-expected unemployment report on Friday marked the beginning of a technical recession, as defined by the Sahm Rule. This rule identifies a recession when the three-month average unemployment rate rises by at least half a percentage point from its lowest point in the past year.
Friday’s figures met this threshold, signaling an abrupt economic downshift. Consequently, investors sought safer assets, leading to declines in major stock indices: the S&P 500 dropped 2%, the Nasdaq 2.5%, and the Dow 1.5%. This trend continued into Monday with further sell-offs overseas.
The crypto market’s rapid decline raises questions about its role as either a speculative asset or a hedge against inflation and recession. Despite hopes that crypto could act as a risk hedge, the recent crash suggests it remains a speculative investment.
Since the downturn, the crypto market has seen its largest three-day sell-off in nearly a year, losing over $500 billion in market value. According to CoinGlass data, this bloodbath wiped out more than $1 billion in leveraged positions within the last 24 hours, including $365 million in Bitcoin and $348 million in Ether.
Khushboo Khullar of Lightning Ventures, speaking to Bloomberg, argued that the crypto sell-off is part of a broader liquidity panic as traders rush to cover margin calls. Khullar views this as a temporary sell-off, presenting a potential buying opportunity.
Josh Gilbert, an eToro market analyst, supports Khullar’s perspective, suggesting that the expected Federal Reserve rate cuts could benefit crypto assets. “Crypto assets have sold off, but many investors will see an opportunity. We see Federal Reserve rate cuts, which are now likely to come sharper than expected, as hugely positive for crypto assets,” Gilbert told Coindesk.
Despite the recent volatility, crypto continues to make strides toward mainstream acceptance. Notably, Morgan Stanley will allow its advisors to offer Bitcoin ETFs starting Wednesday. This follows more than half a year after the introduction of the first Bitcoin ETF. The investment bank will enable over 15,000 of its financial advisors to sell BlackRock’s IBIT and Fidelity’s FBTC. This move is seen as a significant step toward the “mainstreamization” of crypto, given the lengthy regulatory and company processes in major investment banks.
The recent crypto market downturn highlights its volatility and the broader economic concerns affecting all risk assets. While some analysts see the current situation as a temporary sell-off and a buying opportunity, others caution against the speculative nature of crypto. As the market evolves, its role as a mainstream alternative asset continues to grow, marked by increasing institutional acceptance and new investment opportunities.
