Crafting the Narrative

This free talk is presented by the SFU City Program and the Urban Studies program at SFU.

In many gateway cities—cities tightly locked into global flows of capital and people—immigration has become the largest component of population growth, and thus a major determinant of housing markets. In pre-COVID Vancouver, the arrival of wealthy migrants, many holding golden visas, plus significant offshore property investment, contributed to rapid house price inflation. We demonstrate the scale of offshore investment, the economic basis of resistance and policy change, and the broad, multiethnic support behind efforts to limit foreign property ownership. In doing so, we show how various actors associated with the local growth machine have resorted to accusations of "racism" to undercut community opposition and push a supply-side policy agenda.

• David Ley is professor emeritus of geography at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver.
• Andy Yan is an associate professor of professional practice in Urban Studies and the director of the City Program at Simon Fraser University.

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Host or Publisher SFU Continuing Studies