Airbnb’s Devastating Effect on Housing

Monday, March 11, 2024

This week from The Walrus:

Airbnb’s Devastating Effect on Canadian Housing

How Montreal priced out long-term renters as thousands of homes became vacation suites

BY GREGOR CRAIGIE

Anti Airbnb sticker on the main street of Montreal Port.

Jean-François Raymond wasn’t expecting an eviction notice in the last few days of 2022. He’d lived in his spacious apartment in Montreal’s east-end neighbourhood of Hochelaga-Maisonneuve for twenty-two years. It was home in the truest sense of the word. “It was the place that I raised my kid,” he said. “There are plenty of memories.”

Read the story

Let’s Brie Real: Can Vegan Cheese Pass the Taste Test?

And is it actually even cheese?

BY NICOLE SCHMIDT

Bradley Cooper, dressed in a tux, smiles while a giant golden Oscar statute stands behind him.

The Exquisite Agony of Watching Bradley Cooper Chase an Oscar

What is it about wanting something that audiences find so repulsive?

BY ARIELLA GARMAISE

A giant robot walks up a mountainside towards a man sitting outside a cave as rocks from above shower down.

Beware of the Newsroom-Destroying “Answer Engine”

Tech companies are creating conditions that will deal a death blow to journalism everywhere

BY CARMINE STARNINO

A photo of the mausoleum and chapel at Mt. Pleasant Cemetery in Toronto, cast in a ray of light with dark clouds behind it.

Death Care Has Turned into a Gold Rush

How did a cemetery group amass $1.2 billion in assets—and so much power?

BY INORI ROY

Letters to the Editor: March/April 2024

On Vaclav Smil, retirement, and Indigo

BY READERS

The first episode of Imagine 2080 asks us to envision what Canada could look like in 2080 and what we might do now to build a future we aspire to. Featuring perspective-shifting conversations about our country’s past and present challenges.

This podcast is a partnership between The Walrus Lab and the Future of Canada Project.

Listen to this episode

At The Walrus Talks Nature, leaders from Canada’s climate, business, and nonprofit sectors come together to discuss the value of access to nature, including the trails that act as a gateway to Canada’s diverse landscapes. The speakers will discuss how access to nature contributes to human health and well-being, environmental protection, and economic growth. The discussion will be wide-ranging since nature affects us all: How accessible are Canada’s natural environments? How can the outdoors become safer spaces for people of colour? What infrastructure or policies shape nature and our access to it?

Join us

THE WALRUS THANKS ALL OUR ADVERTISERS. BECOME ONE.

Before you go, did you know that The Walrus is a registered charity? We rely on donations and support from readers like you to keep our journalism independent and freely available online.

When you donate to The Walrus, you’re helping writers, editors, and artists produce stories like the ones you’ve just read. Every story is meticulously researched, written, and edited, before undergoing a rigorous fact-checking process. These stories take time, but they’re worth the effort, because you leave our site better informed about Canada and its people.

If you’d like to ensure we continue creating stories that matter to you, with a level of accuracy you can trust, please consider becoming a supporter of The Walrus. I know it’s tough out there with inflation and rising costs, but good journalism affects us as well, so I don’t ask this lightly.

Will you join us in keeping independent journalism free and available to all?

Samia Madwar
Senior Editor, The Walrus

Donate today

Give an annual donation

This newsletter was produced by CIBC Digital Journalism Fellow Makda Mulatu. Email us at letters@thewalrus.ca and your letter may be included in a future issue of The Walrus.