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Mattamy Canada CEO Brad Carr's suggestion? 👀 Stop taxing homes out of existence. "Governments tax cigarettes heavily to reduce their consumption. Today we are applying the same approach to housing, with taxes now accounting for 36% of the purchase price of a new home in Ontario." Read more at buildcanada.com/memos/housin… 🏠

Canada should reward immigrants' success and contributions to the country, not just evaluate their qualifications prior to arrival. Canada has long prided ourselves on our approach to immigration, but troubling trends have emerged. Immigrants are feeling increasingly disenfranchised – only 46% of permanent residents choose to become citizens, down 40% in two decades. More concerning still is the "leaky bucket". 1 in 5 immigrants eventually leave Canada, with over 1/3 do so in the first five years of arriving. When immigrants leave quickly after arrival, they become a net drain on society. They consume settlement resources, healthcare and education, without giving back long-term to our economy and communities. There's a large population of Canadian expats – around 600k – who fall in this bucket. At the same time, public support for immigration has collapsed. For decades, 60-80% of Canadians agreed that immigration was a positive contribution to society. Now, 58% say Canada accepts "too many" immigrants, 57% believe that immigrants are not accepting Canadian values, and 35% believe that immigration increases the level of crime. Yet, committed immigrants who put down roots in Canada show remarkably positive outcomes. They drive entrepreneurship, are more likely to volunteer, and are even more likely to donate to charity. We must reverse recent trends. People must feel like we are integrating and setting up immigrants for success, or they will stop supporting bringing more people to the country. With so many people wanting to immigrate to Canada, we have the ability to accept only those who want to contribute to the Canadian economy and society. Rather than the current system that only evaluates qualifications prior to arrival, let's change to the system to also consider activities after an immigrant has arrived. All immigrants will receive a two-year temporary visa with work authorization, regardless of the stream they came in (economic, family reunification, asylum, student, etc.) Immigrants can earn points for paying taxes, working, starting a business, completing degrees, enrolling their children in school, volunteering, or completing civics courses. Immigrants will lose points for failing to pay taxes, relying on social services, or committing crimes. A minimum number of points is needed to qualify for permanent residency and citizenship. A full breakdown of the proposed points system can be read in the memo below: