-
As changes to Residential Tenancies Act draw near, Yukoners react
Source: Territories - Northern Affairs (Yukon, NWT, Nunavut)
Date: 2026-10-30 17:51:39.0
Tags: [National, Housing, Affordability, Governance]Yukon Party MLAs voted to pass statutory amendments to the Residential Tenancies Act, effectively eliminating territorial rent caps and reintroducing no-cause evictions effective December 1. The legislative changes, spearheaded by Community Services Minister Cory Bellmore and supported by Premier Currie Dixon, aim to transition the territory to a market-based rental system and encourage housing investment. The Yukon Residential Landlord Association estimated that landlords have withdrawn more than 200 rental units from the market since rent controls were implemented in 2021, while opposition parties and housing advocates criticized the measures for lacking supporting data and negatively impacting tenant housing security.
Read Original -
MLAs call on N.W.T. gov't to offer more support for residents facing high fuel costs
Source: Territories - Northern Affairs (Yukon, NWT, Nunavut)
Date: 2026-10-30 11:00:00.0
Tags: [National, Affordability, Energy, Governance]The Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly unanimously passed a motion on Thursday, developed by the Standing Committee on Accountability and Oversight, urging the territorial government to increase home heating subsidies and expand financial incentives for converting to energy-efficient alternative heating appliances. Driven by a global spike in heating oil prices following the U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran, regular MLAs criticized current programs as insufficient given that roughly half of Northwest Territories households rely on diesel as their primary heat source. Finance Minister Caroline Wawzonek noted the timing aligns with the upcoming territorial budget cycle and acknowledged gaps in existing wood pellet conversion and senior heating subsidy programs, while pointing out that public housing and income assistance clients already receive full heating coverage. The territorial government now has 120 days to formally respond to the motion.
Read Original -
Dawson City, Yukon, leaders urge territory to retract no-cause eviction bill
Source: Territories - Northern Affairs (Yukon, NWT, Nunavut)
Date: 2026-10-29 19:12:01.0
Tags: [National, Housing, Affordability, Governance]The Yukon Legislative Assembly passed Bill 8, enacting amendments to the Residential Tenancies Act that reintroduce no-cause evictions and scrap rent control. In response, Dawson City Mayor Stephen Johnson, the Dawson City Council, and former territorial NDP candidate Francis van Kessel sent letters urging Premier Currie Dixon and Minister of Community Services Cory Bellmore to retract the legislation due to severe rental scarcity and potential strains on community social services.
Read Original -
Yukon gov't not swayed by petition to demand investigation into power utilities' billing practices
Source: Territories - Northern Affairs (Yukon, NWT, Nunavut)
Date: 2026-10-29 01:44:22.0
Tags: [National, Energy, Affordability, Governance]Yukon Energy Minister Ted Laking has declined an opposition petition urging the government to use Section 18 of the Public Utilities Act to order the Yukon Utilities Board to investigate ATCO Electric Yukon and the Yukon Energy Corporation over billing discrepancies. The petition, signed by 1,101 people and tabled by NDP justice critic Carmen Gustafson, called for an independent probe into billing practices between July 2025 and July 2026 following months of customer complaints related to a 2023 billing system transition. Instead of a regulator-led investigation funded by taxpayers, the territorial government previously directed ATCO Electric Yukon to hire its own independent third-party auditor to investigate the billing issues.
Read Original -
S-253 (45-1) - Making Child Care More Affordable for Canadian Families Act
Source: Parliament of Canada (LEGISinfo)
Date: 2026-10-29 00:00:00.0
Tags: [National, Taxation, Affordability, Social Services, Governance]Bill S-253, titled the Making Child Care More Affordable for Canadian Families Act, was introduced and read for the first time in the Senate on October 29, 2026. The Senate Public Bill proposes to amend the Income Tax Act specifically regarding the child care expense deduction indexation. The legislation is currently at the second reading stage in the Senate during the 1st session of the 45th Parliament.
Read Original -
Yukon gov't passes amendments to Residential Tenancies Act, scrapping rent control
Source: Territories - Northern Affairs (Yukon, NWT, Nunavut)
Date: 2026-10-28 21:04:27.0
Tags: [National, Housing, Affordability, Governance]The Yukon government passed legislative amendments to the Residential Tenancies Act, effectively scrapping the territorial residential rent cap and permitting no-cause evictions. Backed by Yukon Party MLAs and spearheaded by Community Services Minister Cory Bellmore, the changes are scheduled to take effect on December 1, 2026. While the territorial government asserts that removing rent control will incentivize private-sector rental housing investment and increase long-term supply, housing advocates and opposition politicians have criticized the policy for exacerbating cost-of-living pressures for tenants.
Read Original -
As the Yukon moves to lift rent control, we asked how many MLAs are landlords
Source: Territories - Northern Affairs (Yukon, NWT, Nunavut)
Date: 2026-10-23 11:00:00.0
Tags: [National, Housing, Affordability, Governance]The Yukon government has tabled legislation to amend the territory's Residential Tenancies Act by lifting the residential rent cap and reintroducing no-cause evictions. CBC News analysis revealed that 6 of the territory's 21 MLAs (or roughly 28.6 per cent)—including four from the governing Yukon Party and two from the NDP—are landlords or have partners who are landlords, prompting conflict of interest concerns from the Official Opposition. However, the territorial conflict of interest commissioner determined that no conflict of interest exists regarding the vote because the legislative amendments apply broadly across the rental market rather than targeting specific properties or individuals.
Read Original -
Q&A | Yukon energy minister says power bills could go up by 53% without federal help
Source: Territories - Northern Affairs (Yukon, NWT, Nunavut)
Date: 2026-10-22 12:31:09.0
Tags: [National, Energy, Infrastructure, Affordability, Governance]Yukon Energy Minister Ted Laking announced that Yukon power bills could increase by 53 per cent without federal funding support to address critical power infrastructure upgrades and a projected 60 per cent rise in grid demand over the next decade. Laking is lobbying the federal government in Ottawa for a 75-25 per cent cost-sharing partnership for infrastructure projects, noting that connecting to the British Columbia power grid is estimated to cost over $4 billion, which far exceeds the territorial government's $2 billion annual budget. In response to recent grid capacity strains, the Yukon government has repealed the Clean Energy Act, reallocated electric vehicle rebates toward home energy efficiency and heat pumps, and planned thermal backup generation utilizing Whitehorse Power Centres.
Read Original -
Alberta referendum vote to remain is ‘great result for Canada,’ Carney says
Source: Global News Politics
Date: 2026-10-20 14:22:51.0
Tags: [Alberta, National, Governance, Immigration, Affordability]Approximately 76 percent of voters in Alberta decisively rejected holding a formal referendum on separatism, opting to remain part of Canada in a vote administered by Elections Alberta. Prime Minister Mark Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith discussed the referendum results, emphasizing a commitment to cooperative federalism regarding immigration and provincial priorities, alongside addressing the recent fire at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre also responded, stating that the focus must shift to affordability, safety, strong borders, and immigration.
Read Original -
Housing advocate fears removing rent control will thwart plan to end homelessness
Source: Territories - Northern Affairs (Yukon, NWT, Nunavut)
Date: 2026-10-15 19:45:44.0
Tags: [National, Housing, Affordability, Social Services, Governance]The Yukon territorial government endorsed the Yukon Anti-Poverty Coalition's 112-page community action plan to end homelessness, titled A Place to Be, while simultaneously introducing a bill in the Legislative Assembly via Community Services Minister Cory Bellmore to repeal rent caps and reintroduce no-cause evictions. Kristina Craig, executive director of the Yukon Anti-Poverty Coalition, expressed concern that the elimination of rent control will jeopardize housing stability for current renters and undermine progress toward the plan's 29 recommendations. Scott Kent, the minister responsible for the Yukon Housing Corporation, stated that the government supports the plan's vision but declined to endorse its target of reducing homelessness by 50 percent in two years, while highlighting forthcoming housing developments such as 34 units at the former Korbo apartment site in Dawson City and 184 units delivered in partnership with the Da Daghay Development Corporation.
Read Original -
No new help for tenants facing end of rent cap, Yukon premier says
Source: Territories - Northern Affairs (Yukon, NWT, Nunavut)
Date: 2026-10-14 18:30:53.0
Tags: [National, Housing, Affordability, Governance]Yukon Premier Currie Dixon's government introduced legislative amendments to the Residential Tenancies Act in the Yukon Legislative Assembly to eliminate pandemic-era rent caps tied to inflation and restore no-cause evictions, with the changes scheduled to take effect as early as December 1. Premier Dixon stated that the government has no plans to introduce new tenant subsidies beyond an existing federal-territorial housing subsidy program for low- and middle-income households. Housing advocates, the Yukon Anti-Poverty Coalition, and NDP Leader Kate White criticized the repeal, warning it will exacerbate affordability and cost-of-living pressures amidst a tight territory rental vacancy rate of 2.4 per cent and a Whitehorse vacancy rate of 1.5 per cent.
Read Original -
Yukon to eliminate rent control, allow no-cause evictions
Source: Territories - Northern Affairs (Yukon, NWT, Nunavut)
Date: 2026-10-09 01:34:16.0
Tags: [National, Housing, Affordability, Governance]Yukon Community Services Minister Cory Bellmore introduced amendments to the Residential Tenancies Act in the Yukon Legislative Assembly to eliminate the territory's residential rent control cap and allow no-cause evictions effective December 1. The previous rent cap, enacted in 2021 by Sandy Silver's government under a deal with the NDP, limited annual rent increases to the average rate of inflation for the previous two years. Under the proposed amendments put forward by the Yukon Party government holding a legislative majority, landlords will be required to provide tenants with at least six months notice prior to implementing a rent increase or eviction, an increase from the previous three-month requirement. Opposition Leader and NDP Leader Kate White criticized the changes as devastating for housing affordability, while questioning whether government members who are landlords could be in a conflict of interest regarding the vote.
Read Original -
C-227 (45-1) - National Strategy on Housing for Young Canadians Act
Source: Parliament of Canada (LEGISinfo)
Date: 2026-10-05 16:52:21.0
Tags: [National, Housing, Affordability, Governance]Private Member's Bill C-227, titled the National Strategy on Housing for Young Canadians Act and sponsored by Liberal Member of Parliament Braedon Clark, passed second reading in the House of Commons with a 169-152 vote on February 12, 2026. The legislation aims to establish a national strategy addressing housing challenges specifically facing young Canadians. Following its committee review by the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities (TRAN), the bill was deemed reported back to the House without amendment on October 5, 2026.
Read Original -
Cost of living, ‘opioid crisis’ paramount for opposition MLAs as Yukon legislature returns
Source: Territories - Northern Affairs (Yukon, NWT, Nunavut)
Date: 2026-10-02 11:00:00.0
Tags: [National, Governance, Healthcare, Affordability, Energy, Mining]As the Yukon Legislative Assembly begins its fall sitting, opposition leaders Kate White of the NDP and interim Liberal leader Debra-Leigh Reti are pressing Premier Currie Dixon's majority government on the rising cost of living, regional healthcare gaps, and the territory's opioid crisis. Premier Dixon is seeking federal intervention to raise the Yukon's debt cap from $1.2 billion to $3 billion to fund major energy and health projects. Additionally, the territorial government reported that 52 out of 56 recommendations from the Independent Review Board following the 2024 Eagle gold mine heap leach disaster have been implemented, with the remaining four slated for completion by spring.
Read Original -
S-251 (45-1) - An Act to establish a national strategy to end energy poverty
Source: Parliament of Canada (LEGISinfo)
Date: 2026-10-01 00:00:00.0
Tags: [National, Energy, Affordability, Social Services, Governance]Senator Mary Coyle introduced Senate Public Bill S-251, entitled An Act to establish a national strategy to end energy poverty, in the Senate of Canada. The legislation reached its first reading on October 1, 2026, during the 1st session of the 45th Parliament. The bill aims to create a comprehensive federal framework and national strategy to address and eliminate energy poverty across Canada. Currently, the bill is positioned at the second reading stage in the Senate for future debate and committee review.
Read Original
