
The real vacancy in Canmore is leadership
As Calgary and other Alberta towns wrestle with housing pressures, Canmore offers a cautionary tale in what not to do. The town's recent livability tax scapegoats second-homeowners as an existential threat — but that narrative obscures a more pressing reality: local leadership has failed to plan for long-term sustainability.
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Second-homeowners, far from fuelling the affordability crisis, contribute significantly to Canmore's economy, culture and resilience. As noted in Joe Pavelka's and Dianne Draper's paper — Leisure negotiation within amenity migration (Annals of Tourism Research, 2015) — amenity migrants, including part-time owners, pay full property taxes, rely less on community services and have supported Canmore's transition from coal to tourism and post‑Olympic development.
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Yet, when council first floated the tax, its framing was punitive: either rent out a bedroom or move out to 'make room' for others. That tone — a thinly veiled eviction order disguised as policy — crumbled under public scrutiny. Instead of reassessing the tax, council regrouped behind closed doors, consulted a lobbyist and drafted a new narrative aligning the measure with short-term rental taxation.
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This shift was not accidental. It was a deliberate rebranding tactic — equating vacation homes with income‑generating rental businesses to stoke moral panic and justify taxation.
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Most second homes are not businesses. Conflating the two is lazy policy at best and disingenuous at worst.
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Such policy drift reflects a deeper planning void. Canmore boasts more than 281 non-market housing units — projects including Spring Creek, Wolf Willow and Vital Homes — almost all initiated before 2021. But since the current council took office, no new affordable units have been completed.
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Future projects such as Palliser Lane and Moustache Lands remain promises, with construction not expected until 2026. In contrast, the mayor's ad claims that '100 per cent of the revenue' from the livability tax will fund 2,000 non-market homes. That dramatic gap between rhetoric and reality must be challenged.
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Meanwhile, real-world solutions exist. Nearby Banff provides a powerful comparison. Instead of vilifying absentee owners, Banff has aggressively pursued housing via the federal Housing Accelerator Fund, restructured land-use bylaws and developed municipal employee accommodations. The result: an active strategy to house workers and create economic diversity — not scapegoats.
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Canmore must similarly evolve. Its current model — tourism-driven, seasonal employment and inflated housing costs — has produced a self-fulfilling crisis. A real solution begins by diversifying the economy: drawing in professional sectors, encouraging remote-work hubs and enabling year-round employment. Second-homeowners, including Calgary professionals, would gladly join the full-time community if those opportunities existed.
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Calgary Herald
2 days ago
- Calgary Herald
The real vacancy in Canmore is leadership
Article content As Calgary and other Alberta towns wrestle with housing pressures, Canmore offers a cautionary tale in what not to do. The town's recent livability tax scapegoats second-homeowners as an existential threat — but that narrative obscures a more pressing reality: local leadership has failed to plan for long-term sustainability. Article content Second-homeowners, far from fuelling the affordability crisis, contribute significantly to Canmore's economy, culture and resilience. As noted in Joe Pavelka's and Dianne Draper's paper — Leisure negotiation within amenity migration (Annals of Tourism Research, 2015) — amenity migrants, including part-time owners, pay full property taxes, rely less on community services and have supported Canmore's transition from coal to tourism and post‑Olympic development. Article content Article content Yet, when council first floated the tax, its framing was punitive: either rent out a bedroom or move out to 'make room' for others. That tone — a thinly veiled eviction order disguised as policy — crumbled under public scrutiny. Instead of reassessing the tax, council regrouped behind closed doors, consulted a lobbyist and drafted a new narrative aligning the measure with short-term rental taxation. Article content This shift was not accidental. It was a deliberate rebranding tactic — equating vacation homes with income‑generating rental businesses to stoke moral panic and justify taxation. Article content Most second homes are not businesses. Conflating the two is lazy policy at best and disingenuous at worst. Article content Such policy drift reflects a deeper planning void. Canmore boasts more than 281 non-market housing units — projects including Spring Creek, Wolf Willow and Vital Homes — almost all initiated before 2021. But since the current council took office, no new affordable units have been completed. Article content Article content Future projects such as Palliser Lane and Moustache Lands remain promises, with construction not expected until 2026. In contrast, the mayor's ad claims that '100 per cent of the revenue' from the livability tax will fund 2,000 non-market homes. That dramatic gap between rhetoric and reality must be challenged. Article content Meanwhile, real-world solutions exist. Nearby Banff provides a powerful comparison. Instead of vilifying absentee owners, Banff has aggressively pursued housing via the federal Housing Accelerator Fund, restructured land-use bylaws and developed municipal employee accommodations. The result: an active strategy to house workers and create economic diversity — not scapegoats. Article content Canmore must similarly evolve. Its current model — tourism-driven, seasonal employment and inflated housing costs — has produced a self-fulfilling crisis. A real solution begins by diversifying the economy: drawing in professional sectors, encouraging remote-work hubs and enabling year-round employment. Second-homeowners, including Calgary professionals, would gladly join the full-time community if those opportunities existed.


Toronto Sun
3 days ago
- Toronto Sun
RESCON: New ruling on 'sixplexes' is both good and bad
Sixplexes provide homeowners with options to lower their mortgage payments and allow multi-generational families to live together. Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page. City of Toronto misses opportunity to have 'sixplexes' fill a housing need This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Recent deliberations by Toronto city council over whether to legalize sixplexes as-of-right in neighbourhoods across the city yielded both good and bad news. On one hand, owners of detached residential properties in nine wards were given the right to have six separate units within a single structure, without having to seek special approval. On the other, council did not extend the approval to include all wards, a move which could put $471 million in much-needed federal funding through the Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF) at risk. Toronto's chief planner and executive director of the city planning division had suggested in a report to council that the Official Plan and Zoning By-law be amended to permit multiplexes of up to six units as-of-right in low-rise residential neighbourhoods across the entire municipality. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Staff were of the view that raising the level to six from four units within a multiplex would encourage gentle densification and could be accommodated in detached residential buildings city-wide. Expanding multiplex permissions, the report indicated, would increase new low-rise housing options. Adding new residents in low-rise neighbourhoods could also help stabilize declining populations, optimize the use of existing infrastructure, and support local retail establishments. Meanwhile, the new permissions could unlock additional opportunities for individuals to access funding and low-interest rate loans for housing projects through the CMHC, the report stated. The issue was discussed at a workshop earlier this year by developers, architects, planners and others who have experience delivering multiplex projects in the city. According to the report, there were some objections, but many were supportive as sixplexes provide homeowners with options to lower their mortgage payments and allow multi-generational families to live together. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The addition of two additional dwelling units within a multiplex was considered by staff to be a balanced and incremental increase that could help address housing challenges and encourage gentle densification. Allowing sixplexes city-wide would only contribute to Toronto's housing supply – something that we so desperately need just now. Modeling shows that sixplexes can generally be accommodated in detached three-storey residential buildings on many residential lots across the city. Council did the right thing by allowing sixplexes in the nine wards but fell short in excluding the rest of the city. In the end, those opposed to the city-wide change apparently had more sway. The decision may have ramifications for the funding the city receives via the HAF. CMHC and the city entered into a contribution agreement and to date Toronto has received two of four installments totalling $235.6 million from the federal government. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The investments are providing Toronto with a predictable funding stream until 2027, which is pivotal to unlocking projects and accelerating the delivery of new homes, particularly affordable rental homes near transit. However, part of the agreement was a commitment to increase density, such as looking into ways to implement sixplexes city-wide by June 2025. Earlier, Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Minister Nate Erskin-Smith sent a letter to Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow, noting the city is behind schedule on the changes proposed by the deal and if the milestones are not met, 25 per cent of the annual HAF payment could be cut. Toronto has to pull out all the stops to increase density and make homes more affordable in the city. Individuals and families are leaving because they can't afford to live and work in the municipality. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. A survey done by Ipsos for the Toronto Region Board of Trade found that two-thirds of residents in the GTHA 18 and older are not confident that they'll be able to afford to live and work there. Meanwhile, 52 per cent of residents disagree that they are confident in their ability to live a comfortable life in the Toronto region long-term, compared to 40 per cent who agree. The writing is on the wall. We must increase supply and build housing that's affordable. The city is changing. Allowing sixplexes as-of-right across the entire municipality is one way to get more housing in the works. In this instance, city council has missed an opportunity. Richard Lyall is president of the Residential Construction Council of Ontario (RESCON). He has represented the building industry in Ontario since 1991. Contact him at media@


Canada Standard
3 days ago
- Canada Standard
"Very bad sign of things escalating in Canada, Carney's first major test on security": Canadian journalist on Kap's Cafe attack
Vancouver [Canada], July 11 (ANI): Canadian journalist Daniel Bordman called the attack on a cafe owned by comedian Kapil Sharma a 'very bad sign of things escalating in Canada' and said that it is Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's first 'major test on security.' In an interview with ANI, Bordman pointed out the recent attacks in Canada, including the targeting of temples by Khalistanis. He also talked on how terrorist group Babbar Khalsa International has claimed responsibility for it and called it imperative for Carney to set some deterrence so that there is decrease in crime in Canada. When asked about shooting at Kap's Cafe in Surrey, he said, 'It's a very bad sign of things escalating in Canada. I mean we have already seen a big uptick in extremist violence, especially post-October 7th. The Khalistanis have been going on for a few years as well. We've seen fire bombings of synagogues, shooting up of Jewish play schools. We've seen, of course, the attack on the mandir by the Khalistanis. But this is disturbing because it presents sort of a new type of escalation, because this is an attack on a cafe that opened a few days ago, owned by a famous Indian comedian. But what's interesting about this one is the Babbar Khalsa International, a listed terrorist organization in both Babbar Khalsa International infamously blew up the Air India 182. They're taking responsibility for it.' 'So not only, I mean, it'd be one thing if this was sort of a random attack, whereas a wink, wink. This is like sort of a Khalistani extortion racket type thing and we have that going on. But this is another step up the ladder where it's an act of violence and intimidation, where they then post the media, the social media themselves post their crime online. They post their crime online and then they take responsibility for it. This is usually what you expect in Yemen or Pakistan or Somalia or other places in the Middle East where a terrorist attack happens and then a group enthusiastically wants to take credit for it because they're a terror organization and terror organizations usually are able to sort of live in lawless land. That's why again you see terrorist organizations pop up in Yemen and Somalia, places that are generally considered lawless and not I don't really have functioning governments But, This is Canada where we electorally do have a functioning government,' he added. Several gun shots rang outside Kap's Cafe, owned by comedian Kapil Sharma, in Canada's Surrey at 1:50 am (local time) on Thursday, according to Surrey Police Service. Police said some staff members were present inside the restaurant at the time of the shooting. No one was hurt in the incident. The cafe had opened a few days back. He said that the response to the attack will show whether Canada under Mark Carney's leadership is any different to how the country was under former PM Justin Trudeau's government. 'This is a massive test to Mark Carney's leadership we saw the country get out of control under Justin Trudeau's tenure. This is Mark Carney's first major test on security and we will see if Mark Carney's Canada is in any way different than just in Trudeau's Canada. So, with British Columbia now waking up to this news, we will see over the next 12 hours or so just how the establishment responds to this terrorist attack,' he said. Bordman stated that extremist groups like Khalistani, Muslim Brotherhood offshoots, Hezbollah supporters are active in Canada and mentioned about the attacks on churches, synagogues. He expressed hope that there is an investigation into the attack and the people behind it are arrested. On how he sees the attack as there have been such attacks in Surrey in the past as well, he responded, 'I find this one interesting because it's the claiming credit and the public posting of it. That's what really sets us off from the other one. Yes, Surrey has seen violence. We've seen Khalistani intimidation. This is nothing new, but it's when they go up the ladder that presents a real problem because it then inspires other extremists. Because again, the Khalistanis aren't the only extremist group active in Canada. You have Muslim Brotherhood offshoots, you have Hezbollah supporters and again, there are churches are being attacked by mostly radical Marxists. Synagogues are being attacked. So, when one group goes up the escalation ladder, it usually moves the needle forward for all other groups if nothing's done about it. So, when this is now sort of a clock, we've climbed a ladder ...in Canada today. It is sort of imperative that Mark Carney make sure and set some deterrence that you do not go up the ladder, in which case you'll see a decrease in crime in Canada.' 'But if this is sort of swept away and the RCMP and and Surrey police and and start staring at their feet and kicking rocks and the provincial government says this is a federal issue and the federal government says is provincial issue the provincial government says well It's local and the local says no, it's federal and the federal says no It's provincial right if you get into that cycle where everyone starts deferring responsibility, then you'll see a massive increase in violence you'll see because that's what a sort of a terrorist mentality is they always check to see what they can get away with. So if you say, you can get away with shooting up a restaurant in the middle of the posting about it, taking responsibility for it... well now you have people openly claiming responsibility for crimes posting on crimes and getting away with it. It's gonna set what's the next step, what's what's the next, well are they gone a shoot at a restaurant, when there are people actually inside of it, when its closed, what's the next level of terrorist intimidation they're gonna do,' he added. Expressing hope that there is an action taken against those behind the attack, he said, 'Hopefully we don't figure it out, hopefully this is deterred, hopefully actually there is real consequences hopefully the people behind this are arrested or detained or deported or there's some visible consequences to institute deterrence. But, we will have to wait and see what Mark Carney does about this because he wants trade with india apparently he's invited Modi,... Khalistani terrorist threatening to kill everyone are actually threatened to kill everyone. So, this is the first major test of okay when it comes down to it. Like an open terrorist attack in Canada and extremist attack. They're posting about it. What will Mark Carney Police force justice system do about this and and and that will have to wait and see.' He spoke on how Canada's criminal justice system is different from what it is in the US, where trials are done more openly and people have access to all the stuff. He noted that Canada keeps everything under wraps and releases information only when the trial is completed. On what action he expects from Carney's leadership on the attack, he said, 'It is hard to know, because Canada in defence of Mark Carney or Justin Trudeau is not like America in the criminal justice way. I mean, entire world tends to view itself through an American lens, and not just an American lens, the type of America that exists on television. So, American television shows, that's our sort of view of the justice system. But, Canada's very much not like that. So whereas the American system tends to do trials more openly, public has access to all this stuff. Canada's ... has always been to keep everything hush hush and completely under wraps, the trial is completed and then release information to the public all about that. So, don't expect any like big declarations and press conferences from the Canadian police just claiming they got their guy. But I do hope that something is done because again individuals did claim responsibility for this.'So, in order to deter this, this you're going to need some sort of strong response to the RCMP and if they don't arrest everyone, there's going to have to be arrests made. I think within a few days, you're going to need to see arrests in order for there to be some deterrent.' 'And in Canada, it's a very top-down system, cults of personalities. So, it ultimately does follow the Mar Carney, because we can pretend that there's a separation between the federal government and the judiciary. But the SNC-Lavalin scandal showed that that's absolutely not the case. This is a country where Mark Carney if he decides to enforce the law here the criminal will go to jail and if he decides to not enforce the law the criminal will not go to jail. So, it ultimately will fall. I mean Mark Carney Prime Minister, also premier David Eby of the NDP hardcore socialists. I don't expect them to do anything. But, they both have the power to enforce the law here Because again, that's kind of how Canada works. We pretend it isn't because it says so on paper, but that's absolutely not case in reality. It is interesting and I don't want to be too pessimistic,' he added. Daniel Bordman said that he would have expected no action from Trudeau-led government. However, he stated that they have not seen how Carney handles the incident, as he has been taking measures to repair Canada's ties with India and called it his 'first major test.' 'If Justin Trudeau was still prime minister, I'd say nothing would happen. That would be my bet. But we haven't seen how Mark Carney handles this and Mark Carney actually has been taking steps to repair the Canada-India relation and this is his first major test. So I would not be surprised if Mark Carney does something here, which is a positive development of Canadian politics,' he stated. Diplomatic tensions between the two nations flared up in 2023 after then Canadian PM Justin Trudeau alleged that his government had 'credible allegations' of India's involvement in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada in 2023. India had strongly denied the charges, calling them 'absurd' and 'politically motivated.' With Mark Carney now serving as Canada's PM, both countries appear to be taking steps to improve ties. According to Ministry of External Affairs, PM Narendra Modi and Carney had a 'key meeting' at the G7 Summit where they discussed ways to restore and strengthen the bilateral relationship. At least 10 bullet holes were visible in a window at Kap's Cafe on Thursday morning, while another window pane was broken. The building, where the cafe is located, has retail units at ground level and residential apartments above; however, it is not known how many residents live in the building. A multi-faith centre and two other businesses, which are yet to open, occupy other ground-level units. Officers could be seen in the restaurant gathering evidence while children were playing across the street outside a daycare located in Newton neighbourhood that is now cordoned off by police tape, Vancouver Sun reported. Surrey Police Service (SPS) said that the investigation is still in the very early stages and 'and connections to other incident and potential motives are being examined.' Police do not have a suspect description yet and the motive behind the shooting has not been determined, Vancouver Sun reported. Spokesperson Staff Sgt. Lindsey Houghton said officers are still speaking to witnesses and working to obtain CCTV footage. He said, 'Once that's done, we'll have a better idea of what happened.' Anyone having information regarding the shooting has been asked to call the police or Crime Stoppers. (ANI)