Urban sprawl is a bit of a dirty word. It hasn’t always been that way. Post-war suburban development gave a lot of people access to homes they could afford with backyards and enough space to raise a family. But as large metropolitan areas grew, some of the downsides became obvious. Long commutes are bad for people’s physical and mental health and they pump emissions into the atmosphere. Outward expansion has also strained our infrastructure.
Ontario’s housing math is ugly. Between August of 2012 and August of 2022, the average Ontario home price increased by more than half a million dollars. Homes earned $50,000 a year during the past decade. And lest you accuse us of cherry-picking numbers, average prices have decreased by more than $175,000 from their peak in March.Article content
Even if interest rate hikes take the air out of Ontario’s housing market, it’s hard to see a durable price decrease without some sort of economic cataclysm. Canada is planning to increase annual immigration levels to half a million. And the GTA alone tends to attract just underRecommended from Editorial
Sorry .. we do not need to build on greenbelts.
No its not.
sometimes I wonder if a few of the old neighbourhoods aren't dying nicely on their own - that it reaches a point where the only sensible thing is to chuck it all and start anew.
I wonder if man - all important man, is only a part of something far larger ... that we have an obligation to tone down these incredible numbers and eventually fit.
Bullshit.
IDontNeedToSeeYourShittyTweets blocked
No, it is not necessary. Ford lining rich men's pockets with more money. Destroying Ontario and Ontarians in the process.
No it’s not. The National Post didn’t do their homework. Again. But they’re a right wing foreign-owned rag that supports Conservatives no matter what. Including the Ford government. Experts have already made it clear the greenbelt is unnecessary. The guys that study this stuff.
No, it is not. just take Toronto, there is som much space to build more and this is even more true of GTA
Wrong.
News flash: Owners of National Post probably among grifters with insider knowledge and early access to Ontario's greenbelt land.
What utter BS
SPOILER ALERT: It is NOT necessary to mega million dollar homes for Dougie's millionaire buddy donors. City sprawl means more road to build and to maintain. We need to build intensification of homes on existing city empty spaces!
No fucking chance Stop the immigration That is what is necessary Like it the fuck or not Canada is full 🇨🇦
bgc85 Yes Ford needs to reward his rich developers.
AmericanPropaganda
When 450,000 immigrants EVERY YEAR are brought in what do you all expect?
Build up.
Greenbelts are designed to stop urban sprawl, not amplify and contribute to it for crissake .. National Post only gets dumber by the day. cdnpoli FireFord onpoli
It’s all about greed, money and power!
Nope it never has been
No it's not. This is s lie.
Where are all the ppl that were pretending they cared about Dutch farmers? They're oddly quiet🤔
👍👍
Let's build a large city up north. Southern Ontario is full.
No it’s not.
Have we exhausted all of the possible infill available within the urban boundary? What about the Whitebelt? Has that been fully developed yet? Lots of room for development before we need to consider the greenbelt.
Immigrants and middle class can’t afford Doug’s houses. Bradford Holland Landing 👇
Man. Are they all smoking the same stuff?
There’s plenty of land left to be developed without carving up the greenbelt. This is being driven entirely by greedy developers and land speculators.
the arent affordable homes, the developers and landlords are corrupt individuals who absolutely need to be investigated, and building over a nature reserve that's existed for millions of years isn't 'necessary' just because you think ittl get rid of the people who live in tents
There are better options but they take some innovative thinking and some planning. Sad.
Stay in school, folks! Being poor sucks anywhere.
It’s not.
Nope
Someone at NP is making money of this.
No it isn't. Your paper wouldn't be worth reading if subscriptions were free. Green space was necessary & Ford is a liar.
Immediately rezone everything currently as single-family to triplex-allowed.
Nyet, Comrade, Nyet.
and all the other government vacant lands couldnt be used...selfish intent at play...KARMA matters and all lives also matter
ThugFord mouthpieces. WeDeserveBetterMedia EndThePostSubsidy
There’s lots of land out here outside the Greenbelt to the east how much land does this article writer have interest in?
Bullshit! There's plenty of non-arable land where development could occur. This is a nonsensically stupid article.
Million dollar homes are never necessary
Who owns post media? Can you say American and friends of Dougie DougisaSnivellingCoward
For all the people griping about urban sprawl, 1. Do you own a fully detached home? If yes, 2. Would you give up your home so that a multiunit residence can be built? You'd be welcome to live in one of the units
Fraser Institute...say no more.
Canada already has enough housing space. Almost the most per capita in the world. Building more big houses on new land won't solve any of the problems we have.
I'm sure clear cutting the greenbelt to put up a typical subdivision isn't the best option if we must build in the greenbelt
Bullshit
No it’s not! Slowing immigration is what is needed. NOW!
For homes that the majority of Canadians will never afford.
It’s not. Like not at all
Lol no its not you corporate shill
No it's not. Canada is a big country and build houses outside of GTA area.
= Consevative rag Building on the Greenbelt in UNNECESSARY and Conservatives know it. Building million dollar homes for the rich yeah NOT NECESSARY
No
Not even remotely true! Hamilton has more abandoned city buildings than I can count. This includes schools. Why are we not using that property for high density housing? It's because you can't build 50, 4000 sqr ft houses on them and the rich won't buy that property.
The has decried it as such… why have a government at all if we can just rely in the Post for their decrees of truth! 🙄
LOL. No it isn't.
Stop allowing immigrants
If Canada keeps insisting on bringing immigrants in a half a million plus every year; what does everyone expect? This current HousingCrisis is a direct result of overpopulation due to Immigration . This is where the simpletons scream racism or some shit. Which it’s not.
Flood insurance will be necessary too
FORDmustRESIGN
Market surveys show more Canadians want to grow families outside of urban centres in suburbs where they have larger homes, a yard and proximity to green spaces. At the CBC they call this suburbs 'car dependent hellscapes'
Downsview airport lands could house a small city and is located in the centre of the city, and already serviced by 2 highways and a subway. But it’s federally owned and they can’t make up their minds on what to do with it. Why aren’t these same critics leaning on feds?
Yah, who needs rich agricultural lands when you can build McMansions instead?
No it isn't-that is just BS reporting to push a position that supports developers. The Greenbelt is an important asset and it is shrinking everywhere. Time to replace the NCC with a much more Citizen centric approach to Regional Ottawa greenspace.
Of course we can build more homes without paving the green belt. Don't be absurd.
Not true. Stop fomenting lies NP.
*Only if it’s a human right to live in a detached home with two cars and three kids. Or you know, live in a slightly denser neighbourhood where you can walk to your bank and your kids aren’t imprisoned for 16 years.
Of course a Conservative leaning paper will endorse building luxury homes on land that was purchased by conservative donors that they stand to make a fortune on now that Ford has opened it up. BecauseCorruption
Ontarislam coming
Why? There is no justification for it at all.
Typical right-wing garbage by the National Trash. No, it isn't necessary. There is plenty of land otherwise that could be used than a protected greenbelt. For example, instead of fordnation stupid highways, you could have built houses on that land. FordFailedOntario
NP calls flagrant corruption and excessively expensive and environmentally housing 'necessary' They'd call for criminal investigations if liberals did this, and they'd be right to
Suburbia never pays. It's a continual drain on municipal taxpayers. Who, incidentally, can't afford to buy a home in the suburbs they're supporting. If we built up, if we needed to invade our greenbelt, it would be minimal.
Developers & Bankers (elite) LOVE Trudeau's 500K new immigrants a year. How is that good for Climate change more ppl = more pollution & gridlock, conversion of greenspace to tiny condos. No organic gardening there. Health Care system? CDNs use most energy per capita in world
Affordable housing in the GTA is necessary. The houses on the Greenbelt will be $2M McMansions built by Ford’s developer friends for the rich. FordFailedOntario
False
NO‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️
No, it's not.
No, building up is. Like normal cities around the world.
Daily reminder fordnation and his sycophantic circle of admirers need to go. DougFordMustResign FordFailedOntario DictatorDoug DougisCorrupt
Maybe if people didn't own so many AirBNB properties it wouldn't have to be.
Right wing propaganda. Ford puppets at best.
ResignDougFord in shame. This is the most corrupt, incompetent, dishonest, cowardly gov't to stain the history of our province. Who owns the green belt land? Oh right, Ford donors bought it. Why won't Ford testify under oath? FordFailedOntario FordMustGo FordIsACoward
nationalpest
Ford is looking out for the big guy's
Of course this isn’t true. This just gives wealthy developers more opportunities to build expensive homes for other wealthy individuals
Looks like a sandwich home to me. How narrow are they for the million you will probably be paying.
Building large multimillion dollar homes on the greenbelt is only going to benefit builders, investors and sellers. This will drive up the price of homes and force more into renting from investors that own multiple properties only used for rentals. FORDmustRESIGN onpoli
False.
There are many other alternatives!
Nope. Time to build up the north and put innovation there instead of destroying what green space we have left.
Are you kidding? Look at all the other land available!
Environment needs the protection! Overpopulation does not solve any of the current challenges.
New York city built up. Toronto has always built out. Seems every Cdn thinks it's a Charter right to have a garage, a driveway and a square meter of backyard with all the arterial roads and highways to support that.
I live in a suburb near the greenbelt that used to feel like a quiet town and we now have a lot of high density housing going up, even next to 2 story homes. I hate it but I will happily accept a lot more of it if it means not developing the greenbelt.
Actually…no
(Conservatives) Let's build million dollar homes while destroying protected land
Says the developer paid advertorial
I almost missed the word ‘opinion’. Nearly got maself lathered up for nuthing at all.
Like it or not, National Post spews right-wing propaganda.
Million dollar homes in the green belt is never necessary
Agreed
Opinions are like arseholes. This one sure stinks.
Literally propaganda...
You are at war Canada. Being enclaved by mass migration. Mowing down the green belt. Not to mention the absolute juxtaposition of climate change being a huge threat, while simultaneously rapidly changing the climate and environment with MASS MIGRATION and urban development
Why would we expect anything less from NP, im sure they have lots of people in their management group with skin in the game. Fox North conyinuing the lies and misinformation
Hogwash
What’s needed is high density affordable homes to solve the housing crisis, not million dollar homes.
More environmental degradation. Why isn’t there a moratorium on immigration?
Actually no it isn't. Urban intensification is what we should be doing instead of sprawling out.
If companies would allow people to work from home, you could build further north. Better infrastructure would be money better spent
Lol. No it isn’t Frazier clown boys….
immigration moratorium for fair wages, healthcare access, housing and environmental justice
There are other options to develop other than greenspaces. All it takes is simple re-zoning but then Ford's developer donors don't own that land so it's not even being considered.
And who’s going to make sure that those homes remain affordable? Make sure that developers don’t take advantage and buy up those houses for investment purposes?
The Greenbelt was overdone and inflenced by government eco socialist bureaucrats. Nobody stood up to the insanity of its excessiveness. Much is unproductive fields. Build houses now.
The focus needs to be on 'high density' builds. Anyone who does not admit this is in denial.
Stop. Immigration.
Like it or not soulless suburbs in a high density depressing wasteland are necessary. Here, citizen, enjoy your bug-protein nutri-paste.
'Ontario needs a lot more housing, quickly. Like it or not, some of that new housing is going to be urban sprawl. We made that choice long ago through inaction, and we need to live with the consequences.'
How about real home's with Real Building Permits preventing what can and will be hidden behind walls. A rushed plan creates overtime, increasing costs, Not bringing down Cost's
And Steve and Josef live where? The Greenbelt homes will still not be affordable for most new buyers as well as being bigger than they need to be.
Nonsense
Or we could just cut back on immigration and require citizenship to be the direct or beneficial owner of real estate and then tax all residential real estate that is not the primary residence of the owner. Poof - no more sky high prices and no need to pave farmland.
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