Toronto Real Estate

Why Invest in Canada?

livia — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 22:52:45 +0000

The brand new Capital Points report, published just yesterday (Friday) by Scotia Economics offers some interesting read. Why is Canada a suitable place to invest? The report tries to answer this quest and it claims that our country actually “has much of what one would want in both a global portfolio and a physical presence.”

There is 20 reasons/predictions included in the report to support this statement. To mention some, it is claimed that Canada has exactly the commodities the world wants, there is a relatively favorable regulatory environment and quite low political risk here, all of which are a big positive. As for expectations,it is predicted that Canadian dollar will strengthen,the domestic economy is going to see significant corporate revenue growth and by 2012, our country shall have an “unbeatable global corporate tax regime.”

So many nice words and good reasons – will Canada precede the US? We will have to wait and see how the situation turns out eventually. Anyway, if you are interested in all pro-Canada arguments, check out the original report.

Employment in February

livia — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 23:36:19 +0000

Good news! Statistics Canada numbers showed that Canadian economy created almost 21,000 jobs in February, which is more than it was generally expected by economists. The unemployment rate declined by 21 percent and is now at the level of 8.2 percent – a 10 month low, actually.

Full time jobs were doing great and the rise was caused mostly by them this past month. On the other hand, in comparison with January, when they were just amazing compared to full time jobs, part time jobs declined in February.

Still, the improvement kind of adds to the statement of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who recently declared his belief that Canada is already creating jobs. However, he also admitted that “it is true that our unemployment rate is still too high. That is why it is our chief priority”. I'm glad, because employment is really one of the issues I'm worried about the most in our recovering economy.

New Park in Toronto

livia — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 13:51:16 +0000

Surprise, surprise. Although it is an undeniable fact that the spaces under the Adelaide and Richmond overpasses around Eastern Avenue here in Toronto are not really attractive, Waterfront Toronto is planning to transform them into a wonderful park, covering 1.05 hectares of land.

Thanks $5.3-million support from Ottawa, the future Underpass Park located in the West Don Lands is supposed to be something great. Sport courts, green area, gardens with benches, climbing structures for kids will all be there. According to the president of Waterfront Toronto, John Campbell, the Underpass Park is “a crucial step in delivering on our promise to revitalize the West Don Lands into Toronto’s next great neighborhood.

You probably never thought about spending a nice afternoon with children below an underpass, have you? I actually can’t believe it will be possible soon, either. Still, it’s fabulous. The park is supposed to open in about a year, during spring 2011 and I’m looking forward to that.

New Home Prices in January

livia — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 01:28:37 +0000

Roots Tower by Faramarz Hashemi

New home prices in Canada increased for the seventh month in a row in January! The rise from December 2009 was as high as 0.4 percent, Statistics Canada announced today in Ottawa. The “housing-only” part grew by 0.5 percent and the “land-only” part increased by 0.1 percent in the first month of this year.

If compared to January 2009, the new home prices increase by 0.1 percent this year, which is not much, but the increase itself is pretty positive. The biggest rise, of 1.7 percent, was reported in St. John’s. Winnipeg with 0.7 percent, Toronto and Oshawa with 0.6 percent rise follow. The next best were Ottawa–Gatineau, Calgary and Saskatoon, all with 0.5 percent growth.

On the other hand, the most significant decline, of 0.4 percent, was in St. Catharines-Niagara, followed by Fredericton, Charlottetown and Moncton with 0.2 percent decreases. What can I say? I’m quite satisfied with the results – there was an increase in Toronto again, even higher than in Canada generally.

Carney: Crisis Not Over

livia — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 01:11:37 +0000

Crisis Not Over by Leslie Jenkins

Mark Carney, the governor of the Bank of Canada does not believe that the global economic crisis is over. That is what he said to students of the Carleton University in his speech for the 75th anniversary of the bank. However, he also thinks that the new, modern methods of the bank are helping our country to recover completely.

"The aggressive and timely actions of global central banks, including the Bank of Canada, have not only averted the worst, but also created the prospect of a sustained recovery," Carney declared, adding that to financial regulation and to the international monetary system are necessary.

As for the future plans of the bank, the governor said that it is not going to repeat the mistake of the 1970’s. The central bank overestimated the rate of possible growth in the economy after the crisis back then... I have to say that it is really positive that the bank already knows what not to do. And yes, it’s doing a good job. Let’s just hope no unexpected traps are ahead of us.

Gallery 133 Upcoming Events

gabika — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 21:26:11 +0000

HAIFA ART TORONTO
April 22nd, 2010 – April 26th, 2010
Reception: Thursday April 22nd, 6-9pm

An exclusive event featuring 40 Israeli artists painting their city Haifa, Israel. All sales benifit the “Art Centres for Underprivileged Children” in Haifa.

Nina Cherney
April 29th, 2010 – May 13th, 2010
Reception: Thursday, April 29th, 6-9pm
Artist present for reception

Nina works in acrylic and for the past 10 years has been creating abstracted landscape’s that reflect her sense of joy and fun. Her work is about celebration inspired by our daily routines. The unique perspectives and shapes and vivid colours mirror the mostly happy chaos of our daily lives. Nina’s latest series are of landscapes in which she aim’s to capture a particular moment, a moment where natural beauty overwhelms us. The large scale and thick layers of paint are intended to translate this awe and joy. The colours are vivid and intense, forcing the viewer to react. Join Nina at the gallery for her inaugural exhibition. Nina will be present for the opening on April 29th.

Foreigners in Canada and Toronto

livia — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 01:40:50 +0000

Foreign Born Population by Jonathan Tommy

A report called “Projections of the diversity of the Canadian population” just released by Statistics Canada predicts that the number of foreign born population in our country in following 20 years will keep on significantly increasing. The share of the non white minority is expected to rise from the current 29 to 32 percent in 2031. The largest visible minority group in Canada will be the South Asians, according to the report.

In GTA, the share of non-white population ought to be even higher that in Canada as such - it should be about 63 percent. This means that in 2031, twice as much foreign born citizens as now are likely going to live in our area. And actually, almost the half, 43 percent, of all the Canadian non white citizens is predicted to live in Toronto solely.

Well, I have to say that I’m very glad and proud that Toronto is such an interesting and culturally diverse city and I think the predictions of Statistics Canada are really interesting. Do you think they will be fulfilled?

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Toronto: Past, Present, Future

livia — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 13:31:17 +0000

Old and New by Gordan

As you all (or at least the Torontian readers) probably know, Toronto has been celebrating its 176th birthday recently. Well, happy birthday !!! As a gift, or maybe just to celebrate this jubilee, the interactive website of Toronto Museum Project was launched on Saturday, with some help of Mayor David Miller.

Thanks to that, now anyone in the world can read stories from Toronto citizens and explore “ideas tied to Toronto's past, present and future”. More than 100 people from our city have participated on launching the website by sharing their stories and as said by David Miller, the site will increase public access to the city's historical collection (which is actually quite big - about 150,000 artifacts).

What a great idea, I really like it – good way to promote Toronto and its history in a very interesting way. Have you seen the website yet? Just check it out, it's really pretty cool, I'm nicely surprised.

Rise of Housing Starts

livia — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 12:48:53 +0000

Photo by Christian Stangier

In February, the seasonally adjusted annual rate of total housing starts grew by 66.3 percent to 34,100 units. That is according to preliminary housing starts data released yesterday by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.

As said by Shaun Hildebrand, Senior Market Analyst for the GTA from CMHC, “starts for both condo and rental apartment projects in the city provided a boost for new construction in Toronto last month.” The housing starts of multiple family homes increased very significantly, by 242.6 percent, to 20,900 untis. However, there was a 8.3 percent decrease in housing starts of single detached houses – to 13,200 units.

As for bigger geographic areas, results were pretty positive too. Urban starts in Ontario grew by 28.6 percent in February. And generally in Canada, housing starts increased by 6.1 percent to 196,700 units this past month. Good results once again. I mean, isn't 242.6 percent rise just awesome?

Chimichanga

zuzanka — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 10:30:31 +0000

Adress: 70 Yorkville (Lower Level), Toronto
Contact: (416) 546-1246

MEXICAN WITH FLARE

Tacos by Megumi

Located downstairs at 70 Yorkville, Chimichanga is the newest and best Mexican restaurant in Toronto. Sister to the Yonge and Eglinton eatery, this smaller and quieter version has a similar menu but is just a little more chic than uptown.

In order to prep your taste buds for a meal you need to start with a salt rimmed Margarita. No "mix" here-only authentic ingredients served in a proper glass with ice and sale and a slice of lime. That's not just authentic, that's the best way to enjoy Tequila without doing shooters.

The chips and salsa arrive before we even place our order. Great stuff! The chips are crisp, crunchy and WARM. The salsa to accompany the chips is chunky, spiced sufficiently to peak the taste buds but not so much as to require numerous glasses of liquid to put out the fire. Perish the thought of several Margaritas!

We start with the suggested soft fish tacos. We have no idea what will arrive but our waiter, Casey, is not only attentive but also fully conversant with both the menu and ingredients. A rarity in this day and age. The taco turns out to be filled with shredded lettuce and other traditional accoutrements in addition to strips of white fish battered, fried and placed gingerly in the middle of each filled taco. Hands or knives and forks can be used to appreciate this wonderful surprise.

Enchilada with chicken and beans by Ray Tsang

The enchiladas are bigger, thicker and more filled with chicken and beef than most. This is not your TACO BEL. This is a meal fit for hungry bellies. Enjoy! The shells are soft and chewy and the inners are rich, thick and juicy. The side of refried black or pinto beans is perfect, although I would rather they be much warmer than they were.

The piece de resistance... if once can use French is a Spanish setting, is the Chilies Relleno. Oh my. No only is the plate filed with swirled sauces for dipping, but the chili itself is so tender and so full of cheese, that one merely breaks the crust the and watches the stuffing ooze out on to the plate ready to be whipped onto the fork and swallowed in one fell swoop. It's a rarity to find such perfectly prepared chilies in a Northern clime. Get used to it, folks. Chimichanga is here to stay.

Finish your meal with a flan and close your eyes. You'll swear you are on the beach in Baja!.

3 1/2 out of 5 stars...