Liberal (Minority/Majority) Government 2025 - ???

[dapaterson]

Why the insistence on single detached housing? Sprawl is expensive to service and maintain. Not everyone wants 4000 square feet.

 

[YZT580]

Or just wait for the mass die off that's coming.

why not simply encourage companies to re-locate well away from the major cities on less arable land? There are enough small towns in Ontario that have not experienced any real growth in decades to absorb the population growth without paving over productive acreage. So-called ghost towns that have numerous vacant lots could easily double in size within current boundaries if there were jobs available in those towns.

 

[YZT580]

Why the insistence on single detached housing? Sprawl is expensive to service and maintain. Not everyone wants 4000 square feet.

because that is conducive to family development. And 1200 to 1500 sq. ft. may not make builders wealthy but they are more than adequate for a family of four.

 

[Czech_pivo]

Or just wait for the mass die off that's coming.

Do you know something that the rest of us don't?

 

[Halifax Tar]

why not simply encourage companies to re-locate well away from the major cities on less arable land? There are enough small towns in Ontario that have not experienced any real growth in decades to absorb the population growth without paving over productive acreage. So-called ghost towns that have numerous vacant lots could easily double in size within current boundaries if there were jobs available in those towns.

Why stay in Ontario ? It may come to a surprise to many to know there is Canada outside of Ont and Que.

Do you know something that the rest of us don't?

Its just demographics...

 

[Czech_pivo]

Why the insistence on single detached housing? Sprawl is expensive to service and maintain. Not everyone wants 4000 square feet.

Plenty of new subdivisions with a 2000sq ft house built on it out in the suburbs.

 

[Czech_pivo]

Its just demographics...

For certain that's playing the long game.

The push (at least in Ontario), is to keep seniors in their home, 'independent' for as long as possible. I've had neighbours (the original owners of the house when it was built in the mid-1960's) on my street staying in the home until they died in the mid-90s. I've probably got, just on my block, 4 sets of neighbours in their 80s and another 5 sets in their 70s, and another 6 in their 60s. Under the age of say 35, 3 sets and 1 of them are the only renters on the block and have no kids, the other 2 sets have 3 kids under the age of 3 and 1 set is expecting their 2nd kids.

 

[Halifax Tar]

There seems to be something is wrong with our bloody kids today...

This could be alarming

https://twitter.com/x/status/2080291876360634707

Adding on to this...

https://twitter.com/x/status/2080412740191924471

Cost of living needs to be addressed before this get out of hand.

 

[Czech_pivo]

Adding on to this...

https://twitter.com/x/status/2080412740191924471

Cost of living needs to be addressed before this get out of hand.

The longer the time from recent memory of Communism under the Soviets and the subjugation of central/eastern Europe and pre-Deng Xiaoping Communist China, the appealing that sort of 'socialism' and 'controlled government planning' becomes to the youth.

 

[PrairieFella]

Adding on to this...

https://twitter.com/x/status/2080412740191924471

Cost of living needs to be addressed before this get out of hand.

Unlimited growth is an inherently irrational concept on a planet with finite resources. Thats the inherent flaw of modern capitalism and part of what's driving the youth to be highly critical of it. Something is going to give, Im hoping its the top 5-10% recognizing they need to do more for the commons like their predecessors did around 100 years ago. Based off what Im seeing thats unlikely so the young and desperate will probably get more radical and violent over the next generation.

Sometimes you need to give a little socialism so the people dont demand a lot of communism. Even arch-conservatives like Bismarck understood this.

 

[Halifax Tar]

The longer the time from recent memory of Communism under the Soviets and the subjugation of central/eastern Europe and pre-Deng Xiaoping Communist China, the appealing that sort of 'socialism' and 'controlled government planning' becomes to the youth.

I think youre letting the continued subversion of country and its systems off the hook to easy.

While there is passive growth I am sure, there is also active work going on.

 

[YZT580]

The longer the time from recent memory of Communism under the Soviets and the subjugation of central/eastern Europe and pre-Deng Xiaoping Communist China, the appealing that sort of 'socialism' and 'controlled government planning' becomes to the youth.

not to mention their trolling of the internet, false news, and the Robin Hood steal from the rich mentality that it fosters

 

[McG]

Why the insistence on single detached housing?

because that is conducive to family development.

I think it is a stretch to say our societal want for single detached housing is important for family development.
We don't want to live in apartments or row houses, but we are not being honest with ourselves if we start espousing that the detached home is some necessity (or near necessity) for healthy families.

 

[HavokFour]

Ecuador being added to the list of countries we have free trade with today.

Canada and Ecuador set to sign free trade deal in Ottawa - National | Globalnews.ca

Mujtaba Hussain, a spokesperson for International Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu, confirmed a signing ceremony is taking place but said there are no public events scheduled.

globalnews.ca

[Reuters]Ecuador says Canada trade deal to make 99.6% of exports tariff-free​

The agreement covers trade in goods and services, investment, e-commerce, labor, environmental issues, Indigenous peoples and dispute resolution.

• More than 600 Ecuadorian products will gain tariff-free access, including bananas, ‌cacao, ⁠shrimp, tropical fruits and vegetables.
• The deal gives preferential access to sectors including flowers, tuna preparations, ⁠textiles, footwear and cosmetics.
• It excludes or protects 227 sensitive agricultural products, ⁠including rice, corn, milk, meat and sugar.
• Ecuador said ⁠the deal matches terms already achieved by regional competitors Colombia and Peru.

 

[YZT580]

I think it is a stretch to say our societal want for single detached housing is important for family development.
We don't want to live in apartments or row houses, but we are not being honest with ourselves if we start espousing that the detached home is some necessity (or near necessity) for healthy families.

not entirely but row houses with a decent rear yard would certainly help. Town houses here have enough space for a BBQ, a 4 ft. round table and 4 chairs and that is about all. When you couple that with parkettes instead of parks or green spaces for kids to play and your kids end up inside with their smart phones ' cause there is no play space available to speak of.

 

[Altair]

I think it is a stretch to say our societal want for single detached housing is important for family development.
We don't want to live in apartments or row houses, but we are not being honest with ourselves if we start espousing that the detached home is some necessity (or near necessity) for healthy families.

I dunno.

The more space my wife has the more she wants to fill it with either children or dogs.

Thankfully I like dogs.

 

[Altair]

https://www.nationalobserver.com/2026/07/24/opinion/mark-carney-gordie-howe-bridge

If there was ever a time to put our collective elbows up, it should have been over a bridge named after Gordie Howe. Instead, we appear to have capitulated to a glorified extortion racket from the Trump administration, one that will have Canada handing over revenues equivalent to half the toll bridge’s net revenues for a period of 15 years. On the trade front, it seems like the concessions will have to continue until morale improves.

I understand the broader strategy at work here, and I’m willing to bet many Canadians do as well. In the face of a volatile and vainglorious bully who’s constitutionally incapable of keeping his word, the prime minister is playing for time — ragging the puck, to stick to the Howe metaphors — and using it to expand our trade relationships and diversify our export flows. If the cost of that time is a combination of symbolic concessions, conspicuous flattery and the occasional act of strategic self-debasement, Carney seems willing to pay it.

Case in point: a recent Abacus Data poll that asked people why they thought Carney backed — and continues to back — American war against Iran. A mere 14 per cent thought it was because that's how he actually felt, while 69 per cent believed it was motivated to some extent by a need to "maintain a good relationship with President Trump and protect Canada's trade interests. As fellow pollster Éric Grenier said on the latest episode of The Numbers podcast, "It does suggest that Canadians understand this game he has to play."

In order to win that game, though, he has to convince Canadians to let him keep playing it. The Gordie Howe Bridge episode, and specifically the prime minister’s apparent misrepresentation of the terms of the deal to open it, risks costing some of the trust that Canadians have given him — and shortening the considerable leeway they’ve granted his government so far in dealing with the Americans. It's one thing, after all, to bullshit President Trump, and another thing entirely to try that with the Canadian public.

Sure, the financial math here could eventually work out in Canada’s favour due to some complex calculations around interest rate spreads and imputed debt servicing costs that are beyond the capacity of most Canadians. But the political math is much less complicated — and much less favourable for the government. The deal to open the Gordie Howe Bridge represents another bent knee from a government that promised Canadians it would stand firm against the Trump administration when it was re-elected just over a year ago. The Carney government’s decision to spin Canadians on its impact rather than admitting the obvious — that we got bullied here, again — only makes the potential political damage worse.

If there’s saving grace for the prime minister here, other than this all happening at a moment where most Canadians are more focused on their summer plans (and the potential intrusion of wildfire smoke onto them), it’s that his Conservative opponents are handling the situation even more poorly. Yes, they’ve pressed him to release the details of the deal, and accused him of being dishonest with Canadians about it. That part will resonate with voters.

What won’t is their overarching belief that the best way forward with the United States isn’t by fighting back but rather surrendering more aggressively. They have consistently pushed the prime minister to strike a deal with the Trump administration, even in the face of the increasingly obvious reality — one underscored by the whole Gordie Howe Bridge fiasco — that Trump does not consider himself bound in any way by mere technicalities like “contracts” and “signatures.” It’s not a coincidence that Danielle Smith and Scott Moe, the two premiers most closely aligned with Pierre Poilievre, want no part of any retaliatory measures — and Doug Ford, the Conservative premier most at odds with him, clearly does.

The constellation of right-wing online influencers who flocked to Pierre Poilievre’s leadership, and who Poilievre has in turn tended to like his personal hothouse flowers, are even more strident in their pro-America and pro-Trump posturing. Their almost reflexive desire to blame Canada for any affront or insult delivered by the Trump administration might get them clicks and engagement, but it won’t win over any of the voters Poilievre’s party actually needs to win an election. As columnist Jen Gerson said on social media, “the fact that Conservatives continue to stand with the 25 per cent of voters who are convinced that America is acting in good faith is an interesting tactical decision.”

Bring back Davos Carney.

 

[HavokFour]

not entirely but row houses with a decent rear yard would certainly help. Town houses here have enough space for a BBQ, a 4 ft. round table and 4 chairs and that is about all. When you couple that with parkettes instead of parks or green spaces for kids to play and your kids end up inside with their smart phones ' cause there is no play space available to speak of.

Quite a bit of the country has that "missing middle" issue. Ottawa has a absolute crapload of it going up now. You should see the amount of low-rise going up in Orleans for example, and quite a few of them feature a large park space in the middle of them. A nice change from the years and years of single homes contributing to the sprawl problem.

 

[RangerRay]

The longer the time from recent memory of Communism under the Soviets and the subjugation of central/eastern Europe and pre-Deng Xiaoping Communist China, the appealing that sort of 'socialism' and 'controlled government planning' becomes to the youth.

So many also think socialism = Scandinavian welfare states. If you read the DSA policies, they are much closer to Mao than Palme.