City Ottawa Financial News

The brother of Terry Fox is calling the move of his older sibling’s statue in Ottawa one of “significance,” now that it stands along Fox’s route through the national capital during his “Marathon of Hope.”

mortgage market, expanding the availability of 30-year amortizations and raising the cap on insured mortgage products.First-time homebuyers, as well as those purchasing new builds, will soon be able to take out insured mortgages with a 30-year amortization, up from the typical 25-year payback period.Additionally, the Liberals are raising the price cap for taking out insured mortgages to $1.5 million compared with the previous bar of $1 million.Both proposed changes would go into effect on Dec. 15.Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland made the announcements on Monday in Ottawa where members of Parliament are reconvening for the start of the fall sitting in the House of Commons.She positioned the move as helping Canadians to afford a first home.“It is going to put the dream of home ownership in reach for more young Canadians,” she told reporters.Extending amortizations helps to reduce the monthly burden of carrying a mortgage, though a homeowner is likely to pay more in interest over the life of the loan.Because households have to put down more than 20 per cent upfront when purchasing a home with an uninsured mortgage, the current price cap for insured mortgages creates a significant barrier for Canadians looking to purchase a property worth more than $1 million.In some of Canada’s most expensive housing markets, the average home price is already above that bar, making it difficult for some prospective buyers to save enough to ever own a home.Under the proposed changes, an individual could put down between five and 20 per cent of the value of a home worth up to $1.5 million, lowering the size of the down payment needed.The proposals come after the Liberals instituted new changes as of Aug.

Ottawa may not be done firing trade salvos at China as Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said the federal government was considering further tariffs.

A new report says August rental rates fell in some of Canada’s largest and priciest markets to continue a months-long trend, while prices rose in smaller markets.

A group representing almost 100 of Canada’s universities is warning the impact from the federal government’s cap on international students will be “far greater” than what Ottawa aimed for.

The Bank of Canada cut its interest rate for the third consecutive time on Wednesday.

The Ottawa Police Service is investigating the death of a longtime employee with the Royal Canadian Navy in what the police force on Monday called a “femicide” — the first time it has used the term.

OTTAWA : Canada will slap hefty tariffs on imports of Chinese electric vehicles, steel and aluminum, positioning itself with allies including the U.S. to protect domestic manufacturing. Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland on Monday unveiled a range of measures she said are aimed at leveling the playing field for Canada’s EV industry and steel and aluminum producers to protect them from unfair competition from Chinese companies.

Ottawa should reverse a controversial decision to stop issuing real return bonds and instead expand the program, diversify lending terms to help finance the national debt and provide access to the inflation-indexed asset class that is very much in demand by the country’s largest pensions, according to a new report from the C.D. Howe Institute.

The federal government is moving to restrict the number of low-wage temporary foreign workers in Canada, with the exception of some sectors.

Even as the trains start to chug again along Canadian railways, there are fears of another labour dispute among pilots at Air Canada grounding jets across the country in just a few weeks’ time.

Business groups are raising concerns about Ottawa’s decision to restrict the number of temporary foreign workers coming to Canada, warning that certain industries that are struggling to find workers could be adversely affected.

Montreal billionaire André Desmarais has joined one of the consortiums angling to build and jointly operate the federal government’s new high-frequency electric railway.

Police in multiple cities across Canada are responding to bomb threats that were sent to Jewish organizations, synagogues and some hospitals this morning.

Canada, has temporarily suspended the entry of new temporary foreign workers for low-wage jobs in the Montreal area. As a result, applications for jobs in the Montreal area paying less than $27.47 per hour will be paused for six months, starting September 3. The decision will not apply to the construction, agriculture, food processing, education and social services sectors. This comes after the country's temporary foreign worker program was described as a 'breeding ground for contemporary forms of slavery' in a report by UN investigator Tomoya Obokata, according to an article in Canada's leading daily, the Globe and Mail.

fake roof signs that have recently been reported in several cities.In a statement on Wednesday, the group said that there has been a rash of scams and cons involving fake taxis, mostly in Ontario, where a team of two people pretends to be a distressed passenger and taxi driver.The group said such incidents were reported by police in Toronto, Sarnia, Sudbury and Ottawa.“I wouldn’t call it on the rise, but it’s very prevalent,” said Canadian Taxi Association president Marc Andre Way in an interview with Global News.“It seems to be moving from one city to the other.”Way said the CTA suspects it might be the same group moving from city to city, but they’re not sure.The scam involves a fake passenger approaching a passerby and saying their taxi driver will not take cash, which Way said is a red flag.Drivers not only accept cash, but often prefer cash,” he said.The fraudster then offers to give cash to the targeted victim in exchange for using their debit or credit card.“The scammer posing as the taxi driver then swipes the card and steals the target’s Personal Identification Number (PIN), later to drain their bank account or fraudulently use their credit card,” the CTA said in its release.In Sarnia, at least 12 such incidents were reported last month, resulting in individual losses ranging from $980 to $9,900, according to police.The Ottawa Police Service also said in a statement on Monday that it has recently received several complaints concerning people being defrauded after offering assistance in paying with their personal credit or bank card for a taxi or Uber fare.The CTA said it has taken up the issue of the generic “Taxi” signs with Amazon, requesting the company in a letter to stop selling them online as they are

If I were an Albertan, I’d be steaming mad about the tariffs that are obviously coming on inexpensive Chinese electric vehicles — steaming more than fresh cowpie on a prairie winter morning.

temporary foreign worker program is a breeding ground for contemporary forms of slavery alleged a report by UN investigator Tomoya Obokata, according to an article in Canada's leading daily Globe and Mail. Prof. Obokata is the United Nations’ special rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery and a professor of international human-rights law at the University of York in Britain. The recently released final report cements Prof. Obokata’s initial impressions, which he first expressed last year after visiting Ottawa, Moncton, Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver on a fact-finding tour, Globe and Mail reported.

according to the Canadian Airports Council. The next 30 are at barely 70 per cent.Driving the travel rebound is a surge along big-city routes.

1,000 kilometres of dedicated and mainly electrified tracks between Windsor and Quebec City, with stops in Toronto, Peterborough, Ont., Ottawa, Laval, Que., Montreal and Trois-Rivières, Que.If it goes ahead, it will be the biggest Canadian infrastructure and transportation project in the 60 years since the St. Lawrence Seaway was built.

Rents are up nationally, but there is some good news for renters — the rate of growth is the slowest it’s been in 31 months.