Wellbeing Budgets in New Zealand and Canada: What Can Municipalities Learn?

Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, Room 108N 1 Devonshire Place, North House, Room 108N, Toronto, ON, Canada

On November 29, 2023, Richard M. Bird post-doctoral fellow, Stephanie Ortynsky, outlined how New Zealand adopted and implemented its innovative wellbeing approach to budgeting, described where Canada stands on wellbeing budgets, and discussed how Canadian municipalities could benefit from considering their budget decisions holistically.

Development charges: The case for and against

Massey College, Massey Common Room 4 Devonshire Place, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Development charges are currently being debated across Canada. On November 14, 2023, two municipal finance exports explored differing viewpoints on development charges.

Decarbonization of Buildings in Canadian Cities: Using Property Assessed Clean Energy Financing to Attract Private Capital

Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, Room 108N 1 Devonshire Place, North House, Room 108N, Toronto, ON, Canada

On June 20, 2023, Richard M. Bird post-doctoral fellow Robert Stewart outlined the methods used to encourage private capital to provide Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing in the US and discussed how similar arrangements can be adapted to Canada.

‘Forever Renters’ – Owning Housing Shares, Not Homes

Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, Room 108N 1 Devonshire Place, North House, Room 108N, Toronto, ON, Canada

On May 30, 2023, IMFG graduate fellow Kaela Sanborn-Hum discussed corporate investment in single-family housing after the 2008 financial crisis, with a focus on Roofstock, an Oakland-based proptech startup, and described Roofstock’s strategies to introduce retail investors to the single-family rental market through proprietary technologies.

Analysing the City of Toronto’s Multi-Unit Residential Acquisition Program

Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, Room 108N 1 Devonshire Place, North House, Room 108N, Toronto, ON, Canada

IMFG graduate fellow Celia Wandio discussed the origins and importance of affordable housing acquisition programs, specifically the City of Toronto’s Multi-Unit Residential Acquisition Program.

Book launch: Sustainability, Citizen Participation, and City Governance

Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, Room 208N 1 Devonshire Place, Toronto, ON, Canada

On April 13, 2023, IMFG held a Toronto book launch to discuss "Sustainability, Citizen Participation, and City Governance" with Hoi L. Kong and Alexandra Flynn

Making the Case for Regionalism

Campbell Conference Facility Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, 1 Devonshire Place, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Don Iveson, former Mayor of Edmonton and Chair of Canada's Big City Mayors’ Caucus, made the case for regionalism on January 17, 2023. He was was joined by Jen Nelles from the Oxford Brooks Business School and Zack Taylor from Western University who discussed ideas around regional coordination and highlighted some of the findings from their research.