Huff & Puff

As suggested here a few days ago, PSPP is now the Quebec premier.

Yeah, Paul St-Pierre Plamondon is a separatist. He’d give that province its own constitution, draft a proclamation of independence and have another referendum to leave Canada.

But, alas, he will go down as another Gallic dreamer, a fleur-de-lis draped romantic in a world that just doesn’t care about New France. He is now leader of a province where most people understand their best shot at maintaining their unique culture, their language and protected rights, is within Canada.

PSPP received just 28% of the vote. Close behind (24%) were the Libs and the Cons (21%). The Parti Quebecois will form a minority government with the premier vowing no move towards a referendum until after Trump is done in 2029.

But minority governments don’t last long, so a separation vote is unlikely to happen. If it did, an overwhelming majority of citizens would reject the notion of leaving Confederation. People are not dumb. Canada protects its bilingualism. America would eradicate it.

Well, on to Alberta. A week from Monday we’ll see what happens when that shameful, needless, divisive, distracting referendum takes place. One question asks if people want to open separation talks. The others are about Alberta grabbing more powers from the feds. All of it is intended to shore up the status and strength of the premier, Danielle Smith. Cowgirl needs the secessionist yahoos in her party (estimated at 53%) placated, and to do so is rubbing the nose of the 80% of Albertans who would choose Canada into the UCP manure.

It irks the provincial leader that PM Mark Carney, at a 61% approval rate, is more popular in Alberta than she (or PP). Ditto in Quebec, where an Angus Reid poll this week put Carney at more than 60%, double that of the new premier.

In other words, fellow little beavers, there is no national unity crisis in Canada. They can huff. They can puff. And you know the rest…

Now, a good indicator that Canadians are worried about what really matter is the real estate market. It continues to limp along on life support, according to the latest stats.

““We know there is substantial pent-up demand… with many households fully intending on purchasing a home in the months ahead,” say Toronto realtors. “These would-be homebuyers want to take advantage of today’s more affordable housing market, but they need to be confident that their employment situation will remain solid and inflation will not put pressure on borrowing costs over the long term.”

Sales in the mighty GTA sucked again, down 9% last month, Listings also dropped – a lot, 14% – as more sellers gave up. Prices were off about 5% from this time last year, and the average property is barely over $1 million now. The industry is begging for more tax breaks for buyers, and bracing for increases in mortgage rates caused by the bond market and the Bank of Canada.

In Victoria last moth sales dumped more than 16% from a year ago and 21% from the previous month. Single-family homes suffered a 17% decline. Average prices were 2% lower for the year, at a still-outrageous $1.28 million. “September closed with inventory levels outpacing sales to a degree we haven’t seen in many years,” said the local board, noting this is the worst since 2015. “The numbers indicate that the Victoria housing market has ventured into buyer’s market territory.”

In Calgary, despite being one of the most affordable large urban areas in the country, sales fall another 4%. The benchmark price now sits at just $566,700 and single-family homes clock in at $685,200, or little more than half the price of a new-build condo in Toronto.

Even Ottawa is not insulated any longer. Sales were awful in August and barely better in September. “Last month, weaker absorption was identified as one of the key signals to watch heading into the fall.” Say the realtors. “That signal became more pronounced in September as the gap widened between the number of homes coming onto the market and the number selling.”

The median sale price of $625,00 has been wilting for a while.

Meanwhile odds of a Bank of Canada rate hike at the end of this month are running at about 50%. Almost universal among economists is the expectation of at least one increase by the end of the year. Government of Canada five-year bond yields have jumped from 3% in the summer to 3.6% now, putting upward pressure on long-term fixed-rate mortgages.

The trade war continues, of course. Tariffs have mounted. Jobs have been lost. The feds continue to fight back, seek new paths, find better allies and partners and lead us into the unknown.

There’s enough to fret about. We don’t need a quisling.

About the picture: “Geordie was a Keeshond, the most chill dog we ever owned,” writes Ralph. “He wasn’t an alpha dog, a beta dog or even a gamma dog. Geordie was an omega dog. Happy to submit to anyone or anything. Dogs get startled by things. Dogs will often wind up permanently scared of whatever startled them. Geordie, on the other hand, would stop for 10 seconds or so when he was startled, realize he wasn’t hurting, then he figured it must be OK and carried on with whatever he was doing. Everything was his favourite thing. He was as enthusiastic about going to the vet (where there were treats!) as he was about going to the beach.”

To be in touch or send a picture of your beastm email to ‘[email protected]’.

Source: https://www.greaterfool.ca/2026/10/06/huff-puff-2/