Empirical means statistically verifiable verifiable by observation not just an theory. I dont what part of that is hard for you to understand. The stats dont lie.

Heres another: Average house price in AB: 495,000. Average house price in ON: 852,000. Not hard to see why people are moving.

There isn't really a petro boom this time either. Oil and gas is doing fine but its not going crazy and booming like it was 20 years ago. We actually have fairly high unemployment of 7% considering the mass influx, but thats not stopping people from coming here. They're coming because ON and BC are completely unaffordable now and AB has some great advantages not the least of which is no provincial sales tax.

You are not performing a charity by “allowing” someone to live, literally below you, for $1280/mo. Had “mom and pops” not over invested into the market then perhaps that person could afford an apartment, a condo, or even a starter home.

And therein lies the fallacy. Why do you think there is SO much demand for housing in Canada and so little building? We WERE a nation of 32 million just 20 years years ago. Now we are a nation of 40 million. So 8 million people came here seeking housing and yet we've barely been able to build fast enough to keep up with PAST immigration rates let alone the current rates on steroids. What happens when 8 million NEW people are seeking housing when there is already a shortage for the 32 million who already lived here? And you think its mom and pops who raised prices?

How about building costs? When I did my first contractor hired renovation only about 15 years ago, the general contractors were quoting rates about 240 a sq ft. So if you wanted a modest 1200 sq ft bungalow you were looking at 228,000 for building costs. Now they quote about 320 a sq ft in my city. So the same house is now 384,000 to build. And thats just the main floor, the basement is extra as is the cost of the lot.

So where is that extra 160,000 for building costs going? Well, if you look at the most profitable companies on the stock exchange, guess who's in the top twenty? Good ol Home Depot. Right up there with the Walmarts, Apple, Amazon and Microsoft. Because building supplies have skyrocketed and they are pocketing massive margins.

The demand was also pushed hard due to historically low interest rates hovering some as low as 1.5% in 2020. But now, just 5 years later the rates have tripled to 4.5%. Which means a mortgage on a 700k house WAS $2800 but now that same mortgage will cost a landlord $3900, over 1000 a month more.

1. Incredible demand due to massive over immigration rates 2) Massive profit taking by building supply companies 3) Rapidly rising mortgage rates which is massive profit taking by the banks. And you think rent is expensive because mom and pops started renting out a basement or a second home? Nope. We have very little control of the forces that create demand and take massive profits from us.

Im not providing a charity. I run a business and I provide safe warm comfortable housing for a VERY reasonable cost to people who never have to worry about interest rates, building supply costs, or how to fix the broken fridge or the leak in the window. And if I sold my house there's no way my renters could afford to buy it, therefore Im going to continue to provide their housing as a service just like any other service.

By the way theres nothing stopping any renter group from starting and building a coop. All it takes is initiative and organization. From forty years of observation, Ive noted that renters would rather protest about their landlords than get off their butts and actually be proactive. Thats not mom and pops fault.