Waning business and consumer confidence, runaway housing costs, commodities nosedive among issues eroding economic optimism

February 16th 2016, the BC government will release the new budget.

"Is the economy important to you?” the Facebook ad from the BC Liberal Party asks. “Should we stay at #1?” 

The answers are “yes” and “not sure,” and the implication is that if you want the B.C. economy to stay “#1” among Canadian provinces, you should vote for the BC Liberals and their small-c conservative strategies of keeping taxes and public expenditures low while boosting an exciting new liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry for the province.

B.C. led the country in economic growth in 2015 and is forecast to have the highest growth again in

Many governments across the country are putting the final touches on their 2016 legislative agendas, including British Columbia’s. And on the West Coast it will probably be difficult to disconnect many of the announcements and policy directives from the provincial election just more than a year away.

Holding to tradition, the spring session will open some time in February, with a budget to be tabled shortly after. While Premier Christy Clark is expected to maintain a steady-as-she-goes course devoid of any major political gambles, there will certainly be moves that will attract attention and undoubtedly controversy.

Here are some of the things I’ll be looking for.

The cabinet

Since the 2013 election, Ms. Clark has only tinkered with the

Q. Our kitchen appliances are in great working condition, but they’re not the most modern or stylish. We upgraded them along with our kitchen 15 years ago. Do purchasers care if a stove or fridge isn’t stainless steel? Would investing in new units increase our property’s value?

A. “The trick isn’t that all the appliances be modern or stylish, but instead that they are suited to the kitchen they are in,” says Chris Allen, a real estate agent and the author of The Book on Toronto Real Estate.

“Few things stand out as awkwardly as seeing brand new stainless steel appliances in a kitchen with worn melamine countertops, tired old cupboards and tarnished or mismatching cabinet handles.”

He recommends this family skip investing in new units largely

Heritage house questions and answers.

Q: What is a Heritage Building?

There are no hard and fast rules, no binding legal definitions, that determine what is, and what is not, a heritage building. Of course, everyone thinks of heritage as old. "Heritage", however, is best understood when joined to another word, such as conservation. The term "heritage conservation" was coined in Canada to describe the movement that advocated an alternative to the thoughtless development and urban renewal that was destroying irreplaceable vintage buildings. In this sense, heritage is clearly understood to mean something worth keeping, preserving, and protecting.

Heritage conservation has in fact been largely concerned with "old" buildings (a very relative term), for

A new report says while the slump in oil is stifling house prices in provinces driven by energy markets, other sectors have picked up the slack and taken home values to new levels nationally.

The report from Royal LePage, which provides a composite price based on values in 53 of the country’s largest housing markets, finds the average home sold for $502,643 during the third quarter of 2015 — an eight per cent increase from a year earlier.

“Economic slowdowns in energy-dependent markets, most notably in western Canada, have in part been offset by both renewed industrial activity in other parts of the country and the Bank of Canada’s recent interest rate cuts,” said Phil Soper, chief executive of Royal LePage, in a statement.

Soper said that, as in

Despite lack of choice, home sales across province rise 12 per cent year-over-year in September as buyers snap up what's on offer, according to new figures.

Unrelenting demand for real estate across BC is pulling home listings inventory to an eight-year low, according to British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) figures released October 14.

There were just 39,977 units available for sale in the province in September – a low that hasn’t been seen since early 2008.

“Strong consumer demand has pulled down the inventory of homes for sale to its lowest level in eight years,” confirmed Cameron Muir, BCREA chief economist.

“Market conditions are favouring home sellers in some board areas, while contributing to relative balance between

Stability in real estate market provides safe haven for savers facing volatile capital markets

Sector remains a federal election priority for major parties and voters

TORONTO, October 14, 2015 – In the third quarter of 2015, home prices showed moderate to strong year-over-year increases in most markets in Canada, according to the Royal LePage House Price Survey¹ released today.  While the effects of the crude oil shock are still filtering through the economy, the country’s non-energy sectors are beginning to regain momentum as a lower Canadian dollar stimulates sharply higher exports, particularly to the U.S., supporting overall consumer confidence and the strength of Canada’s real estate markets.

According to the report and newly introduced