Brandon DonnellyCanada must become a global superpower
The silver lining to the US starting a trade war with Canada and regularly threatening annexation is that it has forced this country out of complacency. Indeed, I'm hard pressed to remember a time, at least in my lifetime, when patriotism and nationalism has united so much of Canada. According to a recent survey by Angus Reid, the percentage of Canadians expressing a "deep emotional attachment" to the country jumped from 49% in December 2024 to 59% in February 2025. And as further evidence of...
Brandon DonnellyThe bank robbery capital of the world
Between 1985 and 1995, Los Angeles' retail bank branches were robbed some 17,106 times. In 1992, which was the the city's worst year for robberies, the number was 2,641. This roughly translated into about one bank robbery every 45 minutes of each banking day. All of this, according to this CrimeReads piece by Peter Houlahan, gave Los Angeles the dubious title of "The Bank Robbery Capital of the World" during this time period. So what caused this? Well according to Peter it was facil...
Brandon DonnellyThe story behind those pixelated video game mosaics in Paris
If you've ever been to Paris, you've probably noticed the small pixelated art pieces that are scattered all around the city on buildings and various other hard surfaces. Or maybe you haven't seen or noticed them in Paris, but you've seen similarly pixelated mosaics in one of the other 79 cities around the world where they can be found. Or maybe you have no idea what I'm talking about right now. Huh? Here's an example from Bolivia (click here if you can't see...
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Brandon DonnellyCanada must become a global superpower
The silver lining to the US starting a trade war with Canada and regularly threatening annexation is that it has forced this country out of complacency. Indeed, I'm hard pressed to remember a time, at least in my lifetime, when patriotism and nationalism has united so much of Canada. According to a recent survey by Angus Reid, the percentage of Canadians expressing a "deep emotional attachment" to the country jumped from 49% in December 2024 to 59% in February 2025. And as further evidence of...
Brandon DonnellyThe bank robbery capital of the world
Between 1985 and 1995, Los Angeles' retail bank branches were robbed some 17,106 times. In 1992, which was the the city's worst year for robberies, the number was 2,641. This roughly translated into about one bank robbery every 45 minutes of each banking day. All of this, according to this CrimeReads piece by Peter Houlahan, gave Los Angeles the dubious title of "The Bank Robbery Capital of the World" during this time period. So what caused this? Well according to Peter it was facil...
Brandon DonnellyThe story behind those pixelated video game mosaics in Paris
If you've ever been to Paris, you've probably noticed the small pixelated art pieces that are scattered all around the city on buildings and various other hard surfaces. Or maybe you haven't seen or noticed them in Paris, but you've seen similarly pixelated mosaics in one of the other 79 cities around the world where they can be found. Or maybe you have no idea what I'm talking about right now. Huh? Here's an example from Bolivia (click here if you can't see...
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Brandon DonnellyHousing supply across Ontario
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Brandon DonnellyHousing supply across Ontario
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Here are a few Ontario / Toronto housing supply charts taken from this recent blog post by Mike Moffat (an assistant professor at Ivey Business School):
So what do these tell us?
Well, 2015 was a banner year for the supply of new apartments/condominiums in the City of Toronto. And supply, in general, has been ticking upward for apartments across the province.
But if you're in the market for a new single-detached, semi-detached, or row house, supply is on the decline in the Toronto CMA. You're likely going to have to go further out for that.
This, of course, makes sense. The Toronto CMA has been built out. Most of the new growth is now going to need to take place through intensification, which usually means apartments and condominiums.
Though obvious, I think all of this is an important reminder. Because the more difficult and the more expensive we make it to build in our already built-up areas, the more we are encouraging sprawl in "Ontario outside of Toronto CMA."
At the same time, we are also making it more financially challenging for families to remain in the city. We can talk all we want about 3-bedroom suites and ways to make them more accommodating to children, but that doesn't mean much if people can't afford them.
Here are a few Ontario / Toronto housing supply charts taken from this recent blog post by Mike Moffat (an assistant professor at Ivey Business School):
So what do these tell us?
Well, 2015 was a banner year for the supply of new apartments/condominiums in the City of Toronto. And supply, in general, has been ticking upward for apartments across the province.
But if you're in the market for a new single-detached, semi-detached, or row house, supply is on the decline in the Toronto CMA. You're likely going to have to go further out for that.
This, of course, makes sense. The Toronto CMA has been built out. Most of the new growth is now going to need to take place through intensification, which usually means apartments and condominiums.
Though obvious, I think all of this is an important reminder. Because the more difficult and the more expensive we make it to build in our already built-up areas, the more we are encouraging sprawl in "Ontario outside of Toronto CMA."
At the same time, we are also making it more financially challenging for families to remain in the city. We can talk all we want about 3-bedroom suites and ways to make them more accommodating to children, but that doesn't mean much if people can't afford them.
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