EPISODE OVERVIEW

Most of Canada is losing people. Ontario, BC, and Quebec are all heading the wrong direction, and for the first time in recent memory the country as a whole posted a population drop. One province broke from the pack. Alberta kept growing, even at the exact moment immigration dried up to zero and people were leaving the country. In this one you get the population read straight from the latest StatsCan quarterly numbers, why Edmonton and Calgary are the two shining stars, and the simple filter that keeps you out of the trap most investors fall into. Follow the people. The people tell you where the demand is going before the prices do.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

- Ontario, BC, and Quebec are all declining in population. Alberta is the one outlier still growing.
- Canada posted its largest year over year drop in recent memory, roughly 103,000 people. Even through that, Alberta gained about 7,280 people in a single quarter.
- Edmonton was the number one destination in Canada for interprovincial migration. Edmonton and Calgary combined pulled in close to 24,000 people in a single year.
- Don't fall into the national comparison trap. The national number is not your number. Your job is to find the market beating it.
- The right question isn't "is Canadian real estate good right now." It's "where are the people moving, and where can they not keep up."
- Affordability is a feature, not a flaw. A market people can actually afford has longevity. No violent spike, no violent drop still searching for a bottom.
- Alberta looks like it's taking a breather before the next run up. When the immigration pendulum swings back toward normal, that growth number gets bigger.
- Follow the flow. People arrive, they buy, rental demand rises, absorption climbs, rents follow.

MEMORABLE QUOTES

"One of these things is not like the other. There truly is one province that is gaining people where everybody else has been losing people."

"People still chose to move to Alberta. Just imagine what happens when that pendulum swings back toward normal."

"I don't want values of properties to go skyrocketing so fast that people can't afford them. Having a market that's affordable for people to buy is very healthy."

"Always invest in a marketplace with a future, not a past."

NEXT STEPS

This was the quick snapshot on population. Next in the series goes deep on the supply side, housing inventory inside Edmonton, starts versus completions, and what happens when you overlay all of it against the 750,000 more people forecasted to move in over the next 15 to 20 years. The starts number everyone is calling unsustainable might be the new normal just to keep up. That one is coming.

WORK WITH RUSSELL

Most investors don't stall from lack of effort. They stall because they don't know which move matters next.

Coaching fixes that. Not motivation, clarity you can act on this week.

Book a private consultation: https://russellwestcott.com/free-consultation/

In your corner, Russell

FOLLOW ALONG

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MUSIC CREDITS
Pax
by Soulish – Premium Beats
LICENSE #8177579
YouTube ID: UVZNP3L4S9VNKPC7

The Old Tale
by Magdalena – Premium Beats
LICENSE #8177663
YouTube ID: 1RFUK4VWLYRXDX2R

From East to West
by Arthur Basov – Premium Beats
LICENSE #8413593
YouTube ID: FPVEHZMG3XNNWD1R