Stephen Harper has kept one economic lynch pin, promoted two others, and brought in an untried new face — but his Conservative government’s message and policies remain the same. The top economic minister, Jim Flaherty at Finance, was brought back to cabinet Wednesday in order to re-introduce the March 22 budget the opposition parties rejected. […]

Canadian home prices continued their upward march in April, driven by strong investor demand in Vancouver, as cracks in the Toronto condominium market may be starting to appear. The Canadian Real Estate Association said yesterday the average price of a home sold in April in Canada was $372,544, up 8% from a year ago. It […]

Canada’s fiscal advantage will only go so far in protecting the country against a debt crisis growing in the world’s advanced nations and Asia’s emerging economic powerhouses, Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney warns. Trying out a theme he will likely take to Washington later this week, Carney told the Canadian Club of Ottawa on […]

The Canadian economy is not only creating more jobs, it’s creating better jobs according to one of the country’s major banks. CIBC’s latest employment quality index shows that 60 per cent of new jobs created over the past year would qualify as high-paying, quality jobs. The bank says there’s been an increase in full-time and […]

The majority of Vancouverites who recently purchased or intend to purchase a condo say that if they had more money, they would prefer to buy a house instead.  The 2011 TD Canada Trust Condo Poll, which surveyed Canadians who are thinking of buying, or recently bought a condo, found that affordability of condos is a […]

Canadians would like nothing more than to be rid of their mortgage debt, according to a new poll released by Scotiabank.  Almost half of Canadians (46%) are saddled with mortgage debt; of those with a mortgage, a staggering 86% indicate that it is important to pay their mortgages expeditiously. “Many Canadians know ways to reduce […]

Canadian homeowners owe $220-billion on their home equity lines of credit, according to a study on the composition of the country’s mortgage market, with most of the money going toward renovations and investments. The Canadian Association of Accredited Mortgage Professionals found in its spring survey that 5.7 million Canadians now have a mortgage, owing a […]

The Canadian Real Estate Association has been adjusting its forecast for 2011 as economic circumstances warrant, and on Monday took another crack at the numbers. Its first prediction was made in February, 2010, when it said prices would fall 1.5 per cent as sales fell 7.1 per cent. Monday’s numbers were rosier, as stronger than […]

A variety of factors can keep you from qualifying for a mortgage. The big ones include a low credit score, insufficient income for the size of the loan you want, insufficient down payment and excessive debt. All of these factors are within your control, however. Let’s take a look at your options for overcoming any […]

Hiring surged at North American companies in April, reminding investors the economic recovery continues to build underneath the wild swings in commodity markets. Canada added 58,000 jobs in April, bringing the unemployment rate down 0.1 percentage point to 7.6% and returning fulltime employment to the level of October 2008 for the first time, Statistics Canada […]