High-paying jobs in Canadian tech, and the rise of pay transparency

By Abigail Gamble
DIGITAL JOURNAL
November 20, 2024

Liz Elliot, Product Market Leader at Mercer, speaks during Innovation Week in Calgary. - Photo by Jennifer Friesen, Digital Journal

Yes, tech layoffs are continuing in 2024, but as Stephanie Hollingshead, CEO of TAP Network says, they’re more targeted than the mass layoffs we’ve seen over the last couple years.

Despite layoffs in the tech sector there’s still high demand for critical skills as tech employers and non-traditional tech companies vie for the same talent.

Hollingshead was speaking at Calgary Innovation Week where she shared current trends in tech compensation alongside Liz Elliot, Product Market Leader at Mercer.

The pair offered insights based on October research produced by Mercer on behalf of TAP Network on the evolving landscape of pay, perks and workplace practices in Canadian tech.

Another big-picture trend Hollingshead shared was that voluntary turnover (people choosing to leave their jobs) is down from 13% to 9% on average.

“This is the lowest I’ve seen in six or seven years,” she said, adding that this reflects a cautious workforce staying put amid fewer job opportunities and lingering economic uncertainty.

Despite these challenges, Calgary’s tech ecosystem is booming.

Between 2018 and 2023, Hollingshead said the city experienced a 78% growth in tech jobs, making it the fastest-growing tech market in North America.

Alberta also surpassed British Columbia for the first time in venture capital investment, “drawing a total of $383 million across 41 deals versus $288 million across 43 deals for BC,” she shared, highlighting the province’s increasing prominence in the Canadian tech landscape.Stephanie Hollingshead, CEO of TAP Network, speaks during Innovation Week in Calgary. – Photo by Jennifer Friesen, Digital Journal
Emerging roles to keep an eye on

The job market in tech has shifted focus a little, with high-demand roles (as evidenced by their increase in pay) emerging in unexpected areas.

Elliot highlighted that mechanical engineers, particularly at entry and intermediate levels, have seen significant pay growth. Demand generation managers and growth marketing roles are also climbing in compensation as the industry emphasizes customer acquisition and market expansion.

Meanwhile, traditional roles like software developers are no longer at the forefront of pay growth but remain essential in the broader tech landscape, she said. Emerging roles like machine learning developers and research scientists have also grown in demand, reflecting the sector’s continued focus on innovation.

Calgary Innovation Week runs from Nov. 13-21, 2024. — Photo by Jennifer Friesen, Digital Journal
Will pay transparency be a key part of the future of hiring in tech?

“We’re seeing tech companies really leading other industries in developing a global pay transparency strategy,” said Hollingshead.

She revealed that 52% of Canadian tech companies now voluntarily include salary ranges on job postings nationally.

Companies are taking a proactive approach because it simplifies hiring and improves transparency, she explained.

However, only 10% of companies disclose pay ranges internally, which Hollingshead flagged as a potential gap. Employees are increasingly aware of external market rates, making internal communication on pay more important than ever.

Liz Elliot, Product Market Leader at Mercer, speaks during Innovation Week in Calgary. – Photo by Jennifer Friesen, Digital Journal

Pay differences and the remote work ripple effect

Remote work is affecting how companies approach pay, but regional differences remain. Toronto and Vancouver are Canada’s top-paying cities for tech roles, with Calgary following close behind in third place.

Elliot explained that Calgary’s competitive compensation is partially influenced by its energy sector, which raises pay rates across industries.

“When energy does well, so does everyone else,” she noted, pointing to how Calgary’s booming tech market benefits from its proximity to resource-driven industries.

The shift toward remote work has prompted many companies to rethink their compensation strategies.

According to Elliot, while 45% of organizations have adopted a national approach to pay — offering the same salaries regardless of where employees live — 26% use geographic pay differentials to balance costs and attract talent in high-demand regions.

She highlighted the challenges companies face in making these decisions, especially when hiring in areas with limited local talent data. It’s not just about the role; location and industry dynamics are big influences on how salaries are structured, Elliot explained.

Stephanie Hollingshead, CEO of TAP Network, speaks during Innovation Week in Calgary. – Photo by Jennifer Friesen, Digital Journal
Incentives and benefits: More than just a paycheque

Incentives have become a critical tool for retaining talent in tech.

Elliot said 74% of tech companies now offer short-term incentives tied to performance, while 54% have long-term incentive programs, such as stock options.

These benefits, however, resonate differently across demographics.

Younger employees often prioritize immediate compensation over equity, while older professionals may value long-term rewards.

Perks are evolving as well.

Flexible work arrangements are now the norm (and expected), but Hollingshead pointed to the rising adoption of family leave top-up programs, which have increased by 9% this year.

RRSP matching has also gained traction, with 57% of companies now offering this benefit.

“We’re seeing the industry maturing,” Hollingshead noted, comparing today’s offerings to earlier years when such benefits were rare.
Hybrid work remains a competitive advantage

Finally, unsurprisingly, hybrid work continues to be a defining feature of tech workplaces.

The survey showed that 85% of tech companies operate hybrid models, while only 1% require employees to work in-office full-time (14% are fully remote).

Hollingshead noted that flexibility remains a significant draw for employees, with many companies leveraging it as a competitive advantage.

It’s a way to increase engagement and attract talent, she explained, contrasting the tech sector’s approach with recent mandates from larger corporations like Telus and Amazon to bring workers back to the office.

Alberta Doubles Down on U.S. Oil Exports

 Keystone XL might be back on the table

By Irina Slav - Nov 18, 2024

Canada is the biggest supplier of heavy crude oil to U.S. refiners.

Alberta’s government is in talks with energy infrastructure majors to construct more oil pipelines to the United States.

The Canadian oil industry is not particularly worried about the prospect of tariffs



When the expanded Trans Mountain pipeline came online earlier this year, some media reported U.S. refiners should start worrying about the supply of Canadian crude. With a bigger TMX, Canada could now export overseas. Yet now, with a pro-oil administration coming in, Canada’s top oil-producing province is looking south again.

Alberta’s government is in talks with energy infrastructure majors to construct more oil pipelines to the United States, the premier of the province told Bloomberg in a recent interview.

“I know the Americans have increased production pretty dramatically in the last 10 years, but it might not always be that way,” Smith told the publication, adding, “They need to know that if they’re looking for additional supply, they shouldn’t be looking to Iran or Venezuela. They should be looking to their friend up north.”

Indeed, Canada is the biggest supplier of heavy crude oil to U.S. refiners who need to blend it with local light crude to produce fuels. U.S. crude is predominantly light and sweet, which refiners cannot process on its own—and it’s getting lighter and sweeter, which might become a problem down the road. The solution to that problem would be more Canadian heavy.

Canada’s energy exports to the United States two years ago were worth close to $160 billion—most of that in the form of crude oil, refined products, and natural gas. A year later, crude oil exports alone hit a record of some 4 million barrels daily. Of those, 97% went to the U.S., the Canada Energy Regulator reported earlier this year. Speaking of this year, Canadian crude oil exports south of the border broke last year’s record to reach 4.3 million barrels daily in July, the most recent month, for which the Energy Information Administration has factual numbers.

“Since TMX came online in May, early data indicate that refiners on the U.S. West Coast have been key buyers of the new export volumes,” the EIA said in its report on Canadian oil imports. “Between June and September, the U.S. West Coast accounted for just over half of all maritime crude oil exports out of Western Canada, with the rest going to destinations in Asia, according to data from Vortexa Analytics,” the EIA also said.

So, it appears U.S. refiners had nothing to worry about really because even with the Trans Mountain pipeline with tripled capacity, most of Alberta’s heavy crude is going to them as the closest destination for the crude—and as alternative supply options remain challenging due to factors such as distance and sanctions. No wonder, then, that Alberta’s government wants to increase the flow of oil south.

Some observers point out Trump's tariff promise as a potential problem in this respect. “The one thing that's the big cloud that's hanging over in terms of uncertainty is Trump's proposed tax on all imports, anything between 10 to 20 per cent,” Al Salazar, head of macro oil and gas research at Enverus, told CBC. “It kind of doesn't make sense to tax crude imports into the U.S. because that's going to push up gasoline prices and be inflationary for U.S. citizens. But on the other hand … in terms of supply chain, that is really concerning.”

Reuters, however, reported last week that the Canadian oil industry is not particularly worried about the prospect of tariffs—because it is the biggest supplier of heavy crude to the U.S. and because of those abovementioned problems with potential alternative suppliers.

"If you were to slap on a bunch of tariffs for Canadian oil, it's not like there's an alternative readily available,” BMP Capital Markets analyst Jeremy McCrea told the publication. Other analysts agree that the chances of Trump taking his tariff promise literally and imposing import levies on every single commodity entering the U.S. were rather limited.

On the other hand, Trump may take action on a pipeline project that President Biden killed as soon as he entered office in 2020: Keystone XL. Dubbed unnecessary by the pro-transition Democratic federal government, whose term ends in January, the pipeline could significantly increase Canadian crude flows to the U.S. if built. And with Trump in the White House, it might get built.

“I think Keystone XL might be back on the table. It’s all about providing cost-effective energy,” the president of oil producer Ensign Energy Services told the Calgary Herald’s Chris Varcoe. “I don’t think they will hit Canadian oil and gas (with a tariff) … He won’t want to increase the cost of energy coming into the U.S,” Bob Geddes added.

So, it seems there is a will to boost the flow of Canadian crude oil to U.S. refiners on both sides of the border. There is a way as well, with an industry-friendly administration in office. Now, the big problem that remains for Albertan oil producers is how to respond to the planned 35% emission cut mandate that the Trudeau government announced earlier this month.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

KEYSTONE PIPELINE REDUX

TC Energy CEO sees opportunity in Trump win as company refocuses on natural gas

By The Canadian Press

November 19, 2024 

CALGARY — Donald Trump’s return to the White House is good news for Canada’s energy sector and an opportunity for TC Energy Corp., the CEO of the Calgary-based pipeline company said Tuesday.

François Poirier made the comments in a phone interview following TC Energy’s investor day presentation in Toronto. He said the former U.S. president’s re-election has been “top of mind” for the company, which has a network of natural gas pipelines in Canada, the U.S. and Mexico.

“He (Trump) is very focused on affordability. He understands the role that energy plays, and energy security, on the international stage,” Poirier said.

“Having the free flow of energy between the three countries in North America is very important. Natural gas and oil want to flow south, generally speaking. And having more supply of oil and gas from Canada will help contribute to lower prices in the U.S.”

As a company, TC Energy has already seen first-hand how business can flourish or be derailed by political winds south of the border.

Its Keystone XL project — a 1,900-kilometre proposed crude oil transportation pipeline that would have carried oil from the oilsands of northern Alberta to the major U.S. crude storage hub at Cushing, Okla. and then on to Gulf Coast refineries — was first proposed under the Obama administration, which rejected it on environmental grounds.

Keystone was then revived under the first Trump administration, before President Joe Biden killed it again by revoking the pipeline’s permit on his first day as president in 2021.


Last month, TC Energy completed the spinoff of its crude oil pipeline business into a new company called South Bow Corp., and as a result, TC is no longer the owner of the Keystone system.

South Bow “supports efforts to transport more Canadian crude oil to meet U.S. demand,” the company said in an emailed statement provided Tuesday by spokeswoman Katie Stavinoha.

“South Bow’s long-term strategy is to safely and efficiently grow our business,” the statement said.

But Poirier said the Alberta government has already reached out to TC in the wake of the U.S. presidential election, keen to see if that project could be revived or if there are other ways to increase Alberta’s oil and gas pipeline export volumes to the U.S.

Trump has proposed sweeping tariffs on all U.S. imports, but most experts believe Canadian oil and gas would be exempt from such a plan due to the highly integrated nature of the North American energy system. Trump has also been a vocal supporter of oil and gas generally, calling for more domestic drilling and tapping Liberty Energy CEO Chris Wright for secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy.

“We’ve had high-level conversations (with the Alberta government) around Keystone XL. We did mention that project is owned by South Bow ... and for conversations around increasing the export of crude oil from Alberta, that would be for South Bow to consider,” Poirier said.

“Our conversations have been more around expanding access to U.S. markets for natural gas — both for export to international markets as well as into the U.S. markets, particularly in the northwest and the Midwest of the U.S. where Canadian natural gas has important market share.”

For TC Energy, a second Trump administration is timely because it coincides with what is already a renewed focus on natural gas for the company. The spin-off of South Bow was designed to enable TC Energy to pursue a natural gas-focused strategy at a time when the company sees growing demand for the commodity.

TC believes a combination of factors — including the phase-out of coal-fired power, increased exports of liquefied natural gas, growing electrification, and the rise of power-hungry data centres to fuel the AI revolution — will lead to a dramatic increase in natural gas usage in North America in years to come.

It predicts North American natural gas demand rising to a total of 160 billion cubic feet per day by 2035, an increase of 40 billion cubic feet per day from today’s levels. The company also believes natural gas and electricity will account for 75 per cent of total growth in overall North American energy consumption by 2035.


“We have seen this developing for quite a number of years ... What I would say, however, is the degree of visibility that has developed over the last 12 months or so around data centres and around the importance of LNG exports has been more rapid,” Poirier said.

Approximately two-thirds of the 350 or so data centres currently proposed or under construction in North America are within 50 miles of TC Energy’s assets, Poirier said, meaning the company is uniquely poised to benefit from the AI boom by supplying much-needed natural gas infrastructure to the power-hungry industry.

While some hyperscale data centre operators south of the border have announced investments in nuclear or renewable power to reduce their emissions profile, Poirier said he is confident natural gas will play a major role in the industry’s growth.

“The issue with wind and solar is that on its own, you don’t have 100 per cent reliability because these data centres operate on a 24/7 basis,” he said.

“They consume energy on a 24/7 basis, which is why we’re so confident in the role that natural gas will play in empowering data centre growth.”

On Tuesday, TC Energy announced it has green-lit a total of about $1.5 billion in capital spending across four new projects, including two in the U.S. that will help with coal-to-gas conversion at two existing power plants as well as the sanctioning of a liquefied natural gas peaking project in southeast Virginia.

It also said its share of the capital required at an expansion at Bruce Power is about $175 million.

Poirier said the company is committed to remaining within its previously sanctioned $32 billion sanctioned capital growth program between now and 2027, but added the prospective opportunities related to natural gas right now are huge.

“We see probably twice the opportunity set that we can afford to spend our human and our financial capital on, based on all the opportunities in our footprint,” he said.

“Actually the skill that we’ve had to learn is how to say no, because we see so many good projects come across our desks.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 19, 2024.

How pirates steer corporate innovation: Lessons from the front lines

Calgary Innovation Week runs from Nov. 13-21, 2024.

By Chris Hogg
DIGITAL JOURNAL
November 19, 2024

Image generated by OpenAI's DALL-E via ChatGPT

If you ask Tina Mathas who should lead transformative innovation projects, she’ll tell you it’s all about the pirates.

“It requires a different type of mindset, a different type of ecosystem and environment, and it should be protected,” says Mathas, co-founder of Flow Factory, a company that aims to enhance human performance by integrating the concept of “flow state” with artificial intelligence.

For transformative innovation, she argues, big companies need pirates — not quite drunken Jack Sparrow adventurers, but individuals who challenge traditional processes and navigate uncharted waters of creativity and risk.

Mathas’s declaration set the tone for a lively virtual panel on corporate innovation at Calgary Innovation Week. The discussion brought together industry leaders to dissect how innovation can thrive in corporate environments often resistant to change.

The challenges, they agreed, are substantial, but the potential rewards for organizations that get it right are transformative.

Making the case for pirates

“Transformative innovation requires pirates,” Mathas said. “It’s not just about solving today’s problems — it’s about being bold and taking risks on where we think the industry is going.”

Mathas described her experience at ATB Financial, where her team was tasked with “breaking the bank.”

Operating with a $50,000 budget, they delivered a market-ready banking platform in just five weeks.

“We had no banking experience,” she said, “and people didn’t understand how we got that done. We had board support, and we had executive support. In other words, we reported directly into the executive and we were separate from the main organization.

 We were the pirates.”

This freedom is crucial, Mathas said, because transformative innovation rarely succeeds when confined by a corporation’s standard processes.

“According to an Accenture study, 82% of organizations run innovation in exactly the same way as any other regular project. Plus it takes about 18 months, and you’re still facing a 90% failure rate,” she said, telling the audience that is the reason she left the corporate world.

Innovation begins with people and alignment with business goals

Jeff Hiscock of Pembina Pipelines shifted the focus to the human element of innovation, emphasizing the challenges of workforce turnover and retention. Focus on the importance of building environments that retain experienced talent, while simultaneously attracting new entrants to the workforce, he advised.

“Thirty-five per cent of the energy workforce will turn over by 2035,” Hiscock said, referencing data from a provincial study. “A lot of that is through retirement. How do you create a workplace where those people want to stay in the roles longer?”

By focusing on creating workplaces that are innovative, engaging and adaptable, organizations can address this looming talent gap while driving forward their innovation goals.

Hiscock described innovation as a necessity, not a luxury, particularly in industries like energy.

“Innovation is about solving real problems that impact your business’s core value streams,” he said.

Pembina, for instance, focuses 70% of its innovation efforts on projects with direct EBITDA impacts, ensuring alignment with organizational goals.

However, Hiscock cautioned that innovation efforts often stall because of cultural resistance.

“What’s obvious to you is not obvious to everyone else,” he said. “It’s like playing a 4D chess game that only you can see. That’s a bad place to be.”

His solution? Securing buy-in from every level of the organization, not just senior executives.

From dollars to disruption

“Innovation isn’t about dollars, but it kind of is,” said Shannon Phillips, co-founder of Unbounded Thinking. Phillips’ work focuses on helping organizations, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises, implement effective innovation management systems.

He explained that many companies struggle to balance innovation’s creative potential with the financial realities of running a business.

“If we keep talking about this vague concept of innovation that is just about something new and breakthrough, we’ll never get the respect that we need. We really need to start looking at how we measure it to make it part of our DNA, and to make it a revenue stream in itself.”

Phillips outlined a structured approach to categorizing innovation: core (incremental improvements), adjacent (new markets or products), and breakthrough (disruptive technologies).

He emphasized focusing on core innovation first, as it carries the least risk, while building maturity and trust over time to approach higher-risk, breakthrough projects effectively. This holistic, balanced approach helps companies mitigate risks and align innovation with their capabilities and goals.

“For smaller companies, it’s not a buzzword — it’s about survival,” he said. “They need proof that innovation will help them grow and keep their doors open.”

Partnerships that deliver

Lee Evans, head of low-carbon activities at TC Energy, discussed how partnerships can drive innovation in meaningful ways.

“We think about win-wins,” Evans said. “How do we find ways to work with others to support each other?”

As an example, TC Energy recently invested and partnered with Qube Technologies, a Calgary-based emissions monitoring company, to address its decarbonization goals.

Evans highlighted the importance of starting small with innovation initiatives.

“Minimum viable products are really important,” he said. “You test, you learn and then you scale.” This approach minimizes risk while building trust in the process.

Evans also stressed the need for resilience and adaptability.

“If you want to be working in this space, you’ve got to be resilient. You’ve got to be willing to face challenges and setbacks and be willing to pivot. Those are really important. And never give up if you think there’s true value in what you’re up to. Find ways to make sure people understand the value of what you’re doing.”

The role of government and academia in innovation

Panelists also weighed in on how external forces, like government policies and academic research, shape innovation.

Mathas argued that governments should incentivize competition to stimulate corporate innovation. “We need more competition coming into Canada and into Alberta to create more of that incentive to want to compete and to want to innovate.”

On the academic front, Mathas cautioned universities in their efforts to turn researchers into entrepreneurs. She said universities should focus on supporting research, not forcing students to commercialize their ideas because it can lead to a loss of investment in the research that drives real innovation.

Key takeaways for corporate innovators

The panel left attendees with practical advice for navigating the complexities of corporate innovation:Start small, think big: “Innovate like a startup, scale like an enterprise,” said Mathas.
Embrace failure: “Failures are just learning in disguise,” she added.
Focus on core problems: Hiscock advised innovators to align their projects with a company’s key value streams.
Measure impact: “We need to make innovation part of the DNA,” said Phillips.
Be resilient: “Understand the value of what you’re doing and keep going,” said Evans.

As the panel concluded, one message was clear: the future belongs to those bold enough to embrace risk, empower people and innovate with purpose.

Whose data is it anyway? Indigenous voices call for accountability and data sovereignty in AI

Calgary Innovation Week runs from Nov. 13-21, 2024.

By Abigail Gamble
November 18, 2024
DIGITAL JOURNAL

Derek Eiteneier, Hayden Godfrey, Natasha Rabsatt, and Renard Jenkins (left to right) spoke at a Indigitech Destiny Innovation Summit panel on Monday, Nov. 18

. — Photo by Jennifer Friesen, Digital Journal

“Any usage of data that does not support data sovereignty, that does not support our economic reconciliation, does not support our interests, constitutes data genocide,” said Hayden Godfrey, director of Indigenous relations at Eighth Cortex.

Godfrey was on stage at Platform Calgary Innovation Centre this morning for the Indigitech Destiny Innovation Summit talking about data sovereignty and how to ethically integrate Indigenous knowledge, language and cultural data into artificial intelligence (AI) systems.

He was joined at the Calgary Innovation Week event by fellow panelists Natasha Rabsatt, founder of With These Lands to Talk, Renard Jenkins, president of I282 Technology Studios and Labs, and Derek Eiteneier, CEO of Outdoor Gala.

Together, they explored protecting Indigenous cultures, and what steps are necessary to build AI systems that foster inclusion rather than exploitation.

For Jenkins, AI tech itself isn’t what presents the greatest challenge to inclusion, but rather the people and power structures behind it.

“We should not be so concerned about the technology [of AI], but we should be concerned about who’s wielding the technology and who’s controlling the technology, and where that center of power comes in, with the technology,” he said.Renard Jenkins is the president and CEO of I2A2 Technologies, Studios & Labs. — Photo by Jennifer Friesen, Digital Journal
Here’s what data sovereignty means and why it matters so much

Data sovereignty ensures that data remains under the control of the communities it represents, a concept Jenkins sees as fundamental to ethical use of AI.

“One of the key things that we have to pay attention to is what data is being used for the foundational model of whichever AI system that you’re using,” he explained.

“That’s where we have the biggest opportunity right now to make sure that our foundational models look like the world that we live in — instead of looking like sometimes the individuals or the groups that actually build the models.”

Adding to the discussion, Eiteneier noted that often with AI tools “there’s bias in the overall data, or it’s missing data altogether.”

This incomplete picture can lead to misinformation or skewed representations — especially of minority or marginalized communities — if not carefully addressed.

“When we’re looking at Native and Indigenous communities, I think there is a lot of apprehension around how these technologies can actually be used, and be representative of cultures that were not historically [well] represented,” Rabsatt noted as well.

But she also emphasized the necessary balance of protecting cultural sovereignty, while embracing AI’s potential.

“I think if we see AI as a tool to augment our intelligence, and to automate, I think we can do something positive with that — with mindfulness, of course — and working together with other people and communities that have the same values.”

Natasha Rabsatt is the co-founder of If These Lands Could Talk. — Photo by Jennifer Friesen, Digital Journal

What the path forward for data sovereignty protection could (should?) look like

When it comes to establishing data sovereignty policies, Rabsatt highlighted the importance of determining what information should remain private and what should be shared.

“Especially with culturally sensitive information, it’s about asking: ‘What is it we don’t want in there? What shouldn’t be open source?’ Then we decide what information we do want to input, ensuring that it creates economic advantages for our community,” she said.

Jenkins emphasized the need for global collaboration in building ethical AI systems, warning against centralized power in the hands of, say, a few large companies.

“There are literally about seven or eight large language models that the majority of the artificial intelligence tools … are actually built upon. At this time, we do not have access to how those models were built, whose data was used for those models,” he explained.

That said, he also brought up some of the challenges of figuring out how to gain access to — and establish remuneration models for — culturally specific AI data.

— Photo by Jennifer Friesen, Digital Journal

“If we go into a regulated state where all of a sudden, individuals are forced to have to reveal what’s in their models, they’re forced to actually compensate the individuals whose IP has been utilized, we may see a lot of these models actually implode, because the cost will be much higher than what they could actually sustain.”

From a regulatory perspective, Godfrey proposed the creation of a binding code of ethics to ensure that AI developers respect Indigenous sovereignty and approach their work with transparency and accountability.

“I would like to see the development of a code of ethics that tech professionals need to abide by, not optionally, but have a mandate to abide by in interacting with this data,” he said.

“We need to ensure that technology is aligned with Indigenous values, that it serves as a tool for justice and reconciliation rather than exploitation. And that starts with respecting sovereignty, one ethical choice at a time.”

Trudeau's immigration cuts could reduce housing gap by 45%, watchdog says

But Canada will still have a shortfall of 658,000 units

Author of the article:
Bloomberg News
Randy Thanthong-Knight
Published Nov 15, 2024 • 

A condo building under construction in Calgary. Canada needs to build 390,000 total units annually, on average, over the next five years to close a gaping housing shortfall by 2030. Last year, housing starts dipped to about 224,000 units. Photo by Todd Korol /Bloomberg

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s plan to restrict inflows of newcomers will narrow the country’s gap between housing supply and demand, according to a budget watchdog.

If Trudeau is successful in curbing immigration over the next three years, that would reduce the housing gap in 2030 by 534,000 units, or 45 per cent, said the Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer, which provides independent analysis to help lawmakers scrutinize the government’s activities.

While the slowing population growth may help reduce the severity of shortages, Canada’s housing supply would still fall short of demand by 658,000 units in 2030, according to the office’s report published Friday. It highlights the ongoing challenge of under-construction in a country that’s home to some of the world’s hottest real estate markets.

Canada would require a total of 2.3 million housing completions by the end of this decade to close the housing gap, the watchdog estimates. That translates into 390,000 total units completed annually, on average, over the next five years. Last year, housing starts dipped to about 224,000 units.

Trudeau’s government last month reduced its annual permanent-resident target by more than 20 per cent and said it wants to halt population growth by shrinking the number of temporary residents — such as international students and foreign workers — through an exodus of more than a million people.

The office, however, noted there’s “significant risk” to the projection in the government’s plan, particularly the estimated outflows. “The plan assumes that 2.8 million temporary residents will leave the country over the next three years,” equivalent to 93 per cent of the group’s current population.

Immigration Minister Marc Miller said earlier this week that the government is focused on making sure “the people that don’t want to leave after due process actually do leave.” Miller cited record increases in the number of migrants removed from Canada this year as evidence that “enforcement is happening.”

The government has set a goal to more than double the pace of construction to add 3.9 million homes by 2031 as it tries to calm housing angst and reverse waning popularity. But pro-immigrant groups have warned that the migration curb could lead to shortages of skilled labor in sectors including construction.

—With assistance from Thomas Seal.

Bloomberg.com

Immigration cuts will help housing gap, PBO says, but less than government projects

November 16, 2024

The federal government is overestimating the impact its cuts to immigration will have on the country’s housing shortage, the Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer said in a new report.

By Nick Murray

In the analysis published Friday, the PBO said its projections still indicate the country’s housing gap should fall by 45%, assuming the Liberal government’s own population projections in its immigration plan are accurate.

The PBO isn’t entirely convinced they are, saying “we judge that there is significant risk” to the demographic projections the government made in its 2025-27 immigration levels plan.

The PBO cautioned its model assumed some non-permanent residents, whose permits or visas would expire and not be renewed under the new plan, will actually leave the country.

“Both our estimated reduction in household formation and the housing gap under the (immigration levels plan) are uncertain and likely represent upper-bound estimates,” the PBO warned.

In October, the Liberal government announced it was cutting the number of permanent residents allowed into the country over the next three years.

The plan expects to see Canada’s population decline by 0.2% in 2025 and 2026, marking the first time Canada would see an annual decline in population, the PBO said.

The PBO now estimates Canada needs to build another 1.2 million homes by 2030 to close the housing gap.

In its report Friday morning, the PBO said the revised immigration plan will reduce that gap by 534,000 units — or 45% — by 2030.

The government’s projections, factoring in its new immigration targets, suggested the population estimates would reduce demand for housing by 670,000 units by 2027, well above the PBO’s estimates and three years earlier than the PBO’s timeline.

“This difference likely reflects several factors, such as the assumed age, region and household structure of the (non-permanent resident) outflows projected under the (immigration levels plan), as well as the time horizon and counterfactual population projection,” the PBO wrote.

In a statement, Immigration Minister Marc Miller’s office said the PBO report confirms the government’s immigration levels plan will reduce the housing supply gap, and that the report’s projections are in line with the department’s own expectations regarding the housing supply gap for this year.

“While an adjustment in immigration levels is helping to reduce the strain on our housing supply, it is also true that immigration and newcomers to Canada will continue to have an important role to play in helping us grow the housing supply,” Miller’s office said.

“Immigrants are not to blame for the housing crisis and they, like everyone who lives in Canada whether temporarily or permanently, deserve to be set up for success while they are.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 15, 2024.

TRUMP SOCK PUPPET

Danielle Smith '1,000 per cent' in favour of ousting Mexico from trilateral trade deal with U.S. and Canada

HOPES TO GET KEYSTONE PIPELINE BUILT

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith speaks at a news conference regarding a new Indigenous energy project with TC Energy in Calgary, Alta., July 30, 2024.

 THE CANADIAN PRESS/Todd Korol

Spencer Van Dyk
CTV News Parliamentary Bureau Writer, Producer
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Updated Nov. 17, 2024 

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says she agrees it could be time to cut Mexico out of the trilateral free trade agreement with Canada and the United States.

"Mexico has gone in a different direction, and it's pretty clear that the Americans have indicated that they want to have a fair trade relationship," Smith told CTV's Question Period host Vassy Kapelos, in an interview airing Sunday. "Mexico is not in a position to be able to offer that, especially with the investment that they have from China."

The trilateral deal was first inked in 1994, at the time called NAFTA, before being renegotiated during former president and now-president-elect Donald Trump's first term.

Trump in this last election campaign vowed to reopen the agreement when it comes up for review in 2026.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford, meanwhile, floated the idea earlier this week of ousting Mexico from the trilateral deal in favour of a bilateral one between just Canada and the U.S., a proposal of which Smith said she is "a thousand per cent" in support.

The majority of what Alberta sends to the U.S. is energy exports. According to Smith, Alberta has a $188-billion trade relationship with the United States, compared to the $2.9-billion trade relationship with Mexico.

"It's important, but our absolute number one priority is maintaining those strong trade ties with (the) United States, and if that requires us to do a bilateral agreement, then that's what we should do," she said.

On Tuesday, Ford accused Mexico of being a "back door" for China to get its products, namely vehicles, into North America, "undercutting" Canadian and American workers.

On Saturday, at the end of the APEC summit in Lima, Peru, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called Mexico a “solid trading partner,” but acknowledged concerns around Chinese investment in its economy that “need to be addressed.”

“I am hopeful that we’re going to be able to work constructively over the coming months and perhaps years to ensure that North America remains an advantageous place for North Americans, for our workers, for our middle class, and creates real growth,” Trudeau said.

Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland told reporters on Wednesday that she's heard concerns from both the outgoing Biden administration and people connected to the incoming Trump administration that "Mexico is not acting the way that Canada and the U.S. are when it comes to its economic relationship with China."

"I think those are legitimate concerns for our American partners and neighbours to have," Freeland said. "Those are concerns that I share."

Derek Burney, who was former prime minister Brian Mulroney's chief of staff when the original NAFTA was negotiated, said a Canadian push to exclude Mexico from the agreement would be "childish."

Burney — who later served as the Canadian ambassador to the U.S. — told Kapelos, also in an interview airing Sunday, that Canada should focus on its own relationship with the U.S., instead of concerning itself with Mexico.

"I don't think we need to be provocative," he said. "I think the Mexicans are doing things that are going to give them enough difficulty with the Americans without our help."

"So no, I wouldn't recommend that we take that action," he added.

Burney said the Canadian focus should be on areas of alignment and potential collaboration with the U.S., namely when it comes to energy, liquified natural gas and critical minerals.

"The Mexicans are going to have a boatload of problems to deal with, with the Americans," Burney also said. "They don't need our help, and they won't seek our help, so let them deal with their own problems with the Americans."

Burney in his interview also discussed the need for Canada to spend more on defence, and faster than it currently plans to, if it wants to be taken seriously on other issues when negotiating with the United States.

And Smith in her interview also discussed the federal government's oil and gas sector emissions cap — a policy she's vehemently opposed — and her efforts to work with the people Trump has announced he plans to bring into his administration.

 

How stress is fundamentally changing our memories

The Hospital for Sick Children

Researchers at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) have uncovered that stress changes how our brain encodes and retrieves aversive memories, and discovered a promising new way to restore appropriate memory specificity in people with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).  

If you stumble during a presentation, you might feel stressed the next time you have to present because your brain associates your next presentation with that one poor and aversive experience. This type of stress is tied to one memory. But stress from traumatic events like violence or generalized anxiety disorder can spread far beyond the original event, known as stress-induced aversive memory generalization, where fireworks or car backfires can trigger seemingly unrelated fearful memories and derail your entire day. In the case of PTSD, it can cause much greater negative consequences.  

In a study published in Cell, Drs. Sheena Josselyn and Paul Frankland, Senior Scientists in the Neurosciences & Mental Health program, identify the biological processes behind stress-induced aversive memory generalization and highlight an intervention which could help restore appropriate memory specificity for people with PTSD. 

“A little bit of stress is good, it’s what gets you up in the morning when your alarm goes off, but too much stress can be debilitating,” says Josselyn, who holds a Canada Research Chair in Circuit Basis of Memory. “We know that people with PTSD show fearful responses to safe situations or environments, and have found a way to limit this fearful response to specific situations and potentially reduce the harmful effects of PTSD.”  

Together with their colleague Dr. Matthew Hill at the University of Calgary Hotchkiss Brain Institute, the research team was able to block endocannabinoid receptors on interneurons, and limit stress-induced aversive memory generalization to the specific, appropriate memory. 

Stress-induced memory generalization 

In a preclinical model, the research team exposed subjects to an acute, but safe, stress before an aversive event to create a non-specific fearful memory that could be triggered by unrelated safe situations, similar to how PTSD presents in humans.  

The team then examined the subject’s memory engrams, which are physical representations of a memory in the brain pioneered by the Josselyn and Frankland labs at SickKids. Usually, engrams are made up of a sparse number of neurons, but the stress-induced memory engrams involved significantly more neurons. These larger engrams produced generalized fearful memories that were retrieved even in safe situations. 

When they looked closer at these large engrams, the study found that stress caused an increase in the release of endocannabinoids (endogenous cannabinoids) which disrupted the function of interneurons, whose role is it to constrain the size of the engram.

Memory and the endocannabinoid system 

The endocannabinoid system enhances memory formation and helps link lived experiences with specific behavioural outcomes. In the amygdala, the emotional processing centre of the brain, certain ‘gate keeper’ interneurons have special receptors for endocannabinoids, and help constrain the size of the engram and the specificity of the memory. But, when too many endocannabinoids are released, the function of the gatekeeping interneurons is disrupted, causing an increase in the size of the engram. 

 

“Endocannabinoid receptors function like a velvet rope at an exclusive club. When stress induces the release of too many endocannabinoids, the velvet rope falls, causing more generalized aversive fearful memories to form,” explains Josselyn. “By blocking these endocannabinoid receptors just on these specific interneurons, we could essentially prevent one of the most debilitating symptoms of PTSD.” 

A surprising link between stress and the developing brain  

In 2023, previous research in Science identified larger, more generalized memory engrams in the developing brain than in the adult brain, just like stress-induced memory engrams. As they continue to explore this unexpected link between engram size, stress and age, the teams are also delving into how daily stressors may impact happy memories. 

“The many biological functions and processes that make up the complexity of human memory are still being uncovered,” says Frankland, who holds a Canada Research Chair in Cognitive Neurobiology. “We hope that as we better understand human memory, we can inform real-world therapies for those with various psychiatric and other brain disorders throughout their lifespan.” 

This research was funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), the Dutch Research Council, Niels Stensen Fellowship, ZonMw Memorabel, Alzheimer Nederland, Toronto Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research Consortium and Brain Canada Foundation. 

---

Journal

Cell

DOI

10.1016/j.cell.2024.10.034 

Article Title

Stress disrupts engram ensembles in lateral amygdala to generalize threat memory in mice

Article Publication Date

15-Nov-2024

Stress makes mice’s memories less specific

Cell Press

Stress is a double-edged sword when it comes to memory: stressful or otherwise emotional events are usually more memorable, but stress can also make it harder for us to retrieve memories. In PTSD and generalized anxiety disorder, overgeneralizing aversive memories results in an inability to discriminate between dangerous and safe stimuli. However, until now, it wasn’t clear whether stress played a role in memory generalization.

Now, neuroscientists report November 15 in the Cell Press journal Cell that acute stress prevents mice from forming specific memories. Instead, the stressed mice formed generalized memories, which are encoded by larger numbers of neurons.

“We are now beginning to really understand how stress impacts aversive memories, and I think that's good news for everybody,” says memory researcher and co-senior author Sheena Josselyn of The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) and the University of Toronto. “We were able to isolate the synaptic mechanisms that drove this and also show that this same phenomenon can be manipulated or blocked by using systemically available drugs.”

To test whether stress impacts memory specificity, the researchers trained mice to associate one sound with stress, and another sound with no stress. Then, they tested the mice’s ability to react appropriately to the different sounds.

Mice which had been placed in an acutely stressful, controlled experience exhibited defensive behavior regardless of which sound was played to them, suggesting that the stressful experience interfered with their ability to form specific memories. In contrast, control mice who had not been subjected to stress exhibited defensive freezing only in response to original sound.

Because the stressed mice had elevated levels of corticosterone in their blood, the researchers next tested whether corticosterone itself could impact memory formation. They showed that mice that received corticosterone prior to training were also unable to form specific memories to the two sounds, and that administering metyrapone, a chemical that inhibits glucocorticoid synthesis, restored the ability of stressed mice to form specific memories.

Specific memories are encoded by groups of neurons called engrams. Most engrams involve only a few neurons, but the researchers showed that the generalized engrams formed by stressed mice were larger, because inhibitory interneurons—gatekeeping cells that usually keep engrams exclusive—failed to do their job. This change, in turn, was driven by endocannabinoids that were released in the amygdala in response to corticosterone.

“When we manipulated endocannabinoid receptors in just one particular cell type in one brain region, it restored memory specificity and the size of the engram,” says stress researcher and co-senior author Matthew Hill of the University of Calgary. “This whole phenomenon is mediated by a very discrete microcircuit in the amygdala, but you can do a systemic pharmacological manipulation and still prevent it, which is very encouraging from the perspective of whether this could one day be translated for therapeutic use in humans.”

In future, the researchers want to investigate whether stress also impacts the specificity of non-aversive memories. They also plan to examine whether exogenous cannabinoids (e.g., cannabis) would have a similar effect on memory specificity, which could have implications for PTSD management.

“We only examined aversive threat memories, but it would be interesting to examine whether stress similarly increases the generalization of a rewarding memories,” says memory researcher and co-senior author Paul Frankland, also at SickKids and the University of Toronto.

“Given that this phenomenon involved the activation of endocannabinoid receptors, it would be very interesting to see if a stoned animal shows a similar generalization response,” says Hill. “That's one of the things that I'd be curious to quickly run as a follow up, because if it did, that would have some interesting implications given that the whole conversation that exists right now around cannabis and PTSD is very confusing.”

###

This research was supported by the Dutch Research Council, Niels Stensen Fellowship, ZonMw Memorabel, Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Alzheimer Nederland, Toronto Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research Consortium, and the Brain Canada Foundation.

Cell, Lesuis et al., “Stress disrupts engram ensembles in lateral amygdala to generalize threat memory in mice” https://cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(24)01216-9

Cell (@CellCellPress), the flagship journal of Cell Press, is a bimonthly journal that publishes findings of unusual significance in any area of experimental biology, including but not limited to cell biology, molecular biology, neuroscience, immunology, virology and microbiology, cancer, human genetics, systems biology, signaling, and disease mechanisms and therapeutics. Visit http://www.cell.com/cell. To receive Cell Press media alerts, contact press@cell.com.

---

Journal

Cell

DOI

10.1016/j.cell.2024.10.034 

Method of Research

Experimental study

Subject of Research

Animals

Article Title

Stress disrupts engram ensembles in lateral amygdala to generalize threat memory in mice

Article Publication Date

15-Nov-2024

 As It Happens

Surprisingly snuggly pythons upend what scientists thought they knew about snakes

Ball pythons, long thought solitary, repeatedly chose to eschew individual shelters and coil up together

Sheena Goodyear · CBC Radio · Posted: Nov 14, 2024 

Ball pythons are non-venomous constrictors native to Africa, and popular all over the world as pets. (Kurit Afshen/Shutterstock)

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As It Happens6:43Surprisingly snuggly pythons upend what scientists thought they knew about snakes

There's no single agreed upon term for a group of snakes, but scientist Morgan Skinner has a suggestion.

"Cuddle of snakes," he told As It Happens host Nil Kӧksal. "Maybe that should be the name."

Skinner, a quantitative ecologist, has co-authored a new study that found ball pythons — long believed to be solitary creatures, and often kept as solo pets — seem to enjoy each other's company. 

The findings, published in the journal Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, add to a growing body of research into the surprisingly active social lives of snakes. 

It also comes on the tail of several other studies that suggest other seemingly solitary species, including sharks and octopuses, may be more community-oriented than scientists previously believed. 

Not so solitary after all 

Skinner, who works for an environmental consulting company in Calgary, studied the social dynamics of snakes as part of his doctoral research at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ont.

In 2020, he and his colleagues published research showing that garter snakes, when given the choice, prefer to spend time together rather than alone, and even form something akin to friendships, showing preferences for certain individuals over others.

But garter snakes, Skinner says, were already known to hibernate and birth their young in groups. Ball pythons by contrast, lay eggs and do not hibernate. They're also a popular pet around the world, and are often kept in isolation.

"I wanted to see what a snake that was less social — in my thinking and in common perception — would do," he said. "You know, here's my social snakes and what they do. And how does this compare to a non-social snake?"

Ball pythons, pictured under a red light, are seen coiled together after scientists lifted up the shelter where they chose to congregate inside their enclosure at Wilfrid Laurier University. (Morgan Skinner and Noam Miller/Wilfrid Laurier University)

Skinner and his colleagues put six ball pythons in a large enclosure for 10 days with enough individual shelters for each snake. 

Twice a night the researchers cleaned the enclosure and shuffled the snakes into different shelters. That's what Skinner was doing when he first laid eyes upon a python "cuddle."

"To my surprise, when I started lifting up the shelters, the first one I lifted up, they were all there together in one big group," he said. 

He separated the snakes and left. When he came back later for the second shuffle, they were all back together again. 

In fact, footage shows the snakes slithering around and exploring their enclosure, but ultimately opting to spend the majority of their time together in one shelter. 

"This really challenged my idea of what sociability is in snakes," Skinner said. 

Despite having solo spaces available, researchers say the snakes repeatedly chose to congregate together. (Morgan Skinner and Noam Miller/Wilfrid Laurier University)

The team started to wonder if there was just something about that particular shelter they preferred. So they took it out.

The snakes, Skinner said, simply congregated in a different shelter.  

"We tested four more groups, a total of five, and they chose different home bases. So it wasn't something about that location or that shelter in particular," he said. 

Unlike the garters, the pythons didn't form cliques, instead preferring to stick all together. 

Vladimir Dinets, a specialist in reptile social behaviour at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, who was not involved in the study, lauded its methodology. 

"I'm kind of impressed at how meticulously they worked out the whole thing and how well they showed this," Dinets told the New York Times. "I tend to look for flaws in things I read, and I couldn't find anything to pick on, here."

Do they also hang out in the wild?

Skinner says he can't be sure whether ball pythons congregate in the wild the same as they do in captivity, but he says he has seen at least one study of wild pythons that references finding them in burrows. 

"It's quite possible that what we're seeing is, to some extent, a natural behaviour," he said. "I think that this social behaviour in snakes inevitably has some benefit to them, whether it's protection from predators or it helps them, you know, maintain heat and moisture so that they can digest better.

Because one meal lasts them a long time, Skinner says they're rarely in competition for food, which could also explain the group dynamics. 

Snakes hunt alone, so when people encounter them above ground, they're usually on their own. That may have led to the misconception that they're anti-social creatures. 

"I think we're very visual, and when we think of social behaviour, we think of animals like flocks of birds," he said. "We don't believe it unless we see it."

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Recent research suggests ball pythons are not the only species that my have been too hastily classified as non-social. 

Shark scientists are currently observing two great whites that keep showing up in the same place, challenging the common belief that the apex predators are loners.

A study published this year showed that brown bears interact more frequently outside of mating season than suspected. 

New deepsea research over the last decade has revealed that octopuses, who spend most of their lives alone, breed in large groups called nurseries. And new footage of shallow reefs shows octopuses sometimes hunt in groups with fish. 

"Most animals need to be social in some way," Skinner said. 

Interview with Morgan Skinner produced by Nishat Chowdhury and Cassie Argao