A Domestic Geography of Money: How Mortgage Debt, Home Prices, and Toronto’s Condominiums “Prop up” the Canadian Economy

Abstract

The most recent financialized redefinition of the home in Canada has arisen in response to the global financial crisis of 2008. The global financial crisis negatively impacted nations around the world, yet, in Canada the effects were lightly felt. In response to this crisis, Canadian banks received significant financial support from the government through the Insured Mortgage Purchase Program and the Canada Mortgage Bond program totaling roughly $137.55 billion. These two programs incentivized Canadian lenders to relax mortgage qualifying standards, to generate increased mortgage debt which could then be packaged into mortgage backed securities. Through discourse analysis of primarily government reports, this thesis contextualizes the inflation of house prices and household debt since the global financial crisis and considers how an “adverse economic event” may cause a downward spiral of unemployment, mortgage default, and a steep decline in house prices. It examines the significance of Toronto and its condominium market in “propping up” the economy through the increased generation of mortgage debt. It is through this urban, geographical analysis that we see the human and physical realization of Canada’s current economic milieu.