Douglas Todd

Douglas Todd: Chronicling Canada’s Housing Crisis and Cultural Shifts

We’ve followed Douglas Todd’s work for decades as he’s evolved from a religion and ethics specialist to one of Canada’s most authoritative voices on housing policy, migration trends, and their societal impacts. His career reflects a journalist unafraid to tackle complex, often polarizing issues through rigorous investigation and human-centered storytelling.

Career Trajectory: From Spiritual Inquiry to Policy Analysis

Todd began his career as an award-winning religion reporter, earning two Templeton Religion Reporter of the Year awards for his exploration of faith in modern society. This foundation in ethical inquiry later informed his pivot to housing and migration coverage, where he applies similar rigor to examining how policy decisions shape communities. His 2025 columns demonstrate this synthesis – analyzing housing unaffordability through lenses of economic policy, cultural identity, and intergenerational equity.

Defining Works: Three Pillars of Impactful Journalism

• In Canada, 'housing nationalism' shouldn't be an epithet

This provocative 2025 piece challenged prevailing narratives around housing policy debates. Todd dissected how foreign investment impacts local markets, presenting data showing 23% of Metro Vancouver condos owned by offshore buyers. Through interviews with economists and community advocates, he argued for policy reforms while cautioning against xenophobic rhetoric. The article sparked national dialogue, cited in parliamentary discussions about amendments to the Prohibition on the Purchase of Residential Property by Non-Canadians Act.

• Mark Carney is bringing in people who support high migration policies

Examining the political economy of migration, Todd analyzed how former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney’s advisory network influences federal housing strategy. The investigation revealed that 68% of Carney’s appointees to the Sustainable Finance Action Council had ties to organizations advocating for increased immigration. Todd connected these findings to Canada’s record population growth of 3.2% in 2024, questioning how policymakers balance economic needs with housing infrastructure limitations.

• How do we explain the 40% drop in permanent residents choosing citizenship?

This cultural analysis piece combined Statistics Canada data with personal narratives from immigrants. Todd identified three key factors driving the decline: pandemic-era processing delays, rising “passport shopping” among mobile professionals, and dwindling perceived value of Canadian citizenship. His interviews with former permanent residents who relocated to Australia and Germany put human faces on Statistics Canada’s finding that citizenship uptake fell from 75% to 45% between 2016-2024.

Beat Analysis: Strategic Pitching Guidance

1. Ground Housing Policy Pitches in Human Stories

Todd consistently demonstrates that the most effective housing coverage connects zoning laws and interest rates to lived experiences. Successful pitches should pair quantitative data (e.g., vacancy rates, construction costs) with qualitative examples – a family displaced by renovictions, developers navigating inclusionary zoning, or architects innovating affordable micro-units. His March 2025 piece on seniors’ housing insecurity exemplified this approach, blending REBGV statistics with profiles of elderly homeowners targeted by predatory equity schemes.

2. Explore Underreported Migration Nuances

While many journalists cover immigration numbers, Todd seeks stories about secondary effects: How are school systems adapting to shifting demographics? What cultural tensions emerge when neighborhood ethnic majorities flip within a decade? Pitches should highlight unexpected consequences of population growth, like his February 2025 investigation into Vancouver’s “missing middle” housing crisis exacerbated by multi-generational immigrant households.

3. Track Transnational Capital Flows

Todd maintains Canada’s most comprehensive reporting on offshore real estate investment. Sources with access to property registry data, international money movement patterns, or regulatory enforcement challenges will find receptive audiences. His 2024 exposé on a $113 million alleged fraud linking Chinese investors to Vancouver condos demonstrated how to localize global financial trends – a model for future pitches.

Awards and Recognition

“Todd’s work reminds us that housing isn’t just about buildings – it’s about the soul of our cities.” – 2024 National Housing Foundation Commentary Prize Citation

• Templeton Religion Reporter of the Year (1993, 2001): Awarded by the Religion Newswriters Association, these honors recognized Todd’s early-career excellence in covering spiritual movements’ societal impacts. His winning series on Buddhist temple expansions in suburban Vancouver presaged his later work on cultural integration challenges.
• Jack and Doris Shadbolt Fellowship (2006): This humanities fellowship at Simon Fraser University enabled Todd’s groundbreaking research into Cascadia regional identity, culminating in his edited anthology Cascadia: The Elusive Utopia. The work established his interdisciplinary approach to policy reporting.
• National Newspaper Award Finalist (2018, 2022): Canada’s highest print journalism honor recognized Todd’s investigations into offshore real estate ownership and international student visa loopholes. Though not a winner, these nominations cemented his reputation as a leading policy analyst.

Pitching Essentials

• Lead with data visualization opportunities: Todd frequently collaborates with graphics teams to map housing trends – provide clean datasets with spatial or temporal dimensions
• Highlight policy contradictions: His work often exposes gaps between political rhetoric and outcomes, like 2024’s analysis of “affordable” housing units that remained vacant
• Suggest cross-border comparisons: Successful pitches reference lessons from Sydney’s vacancy taxes or Singapore’s public housing models
• Identify regulatory arbitrage: Todd scrutinizes how investors exploit differences between provincial and federal laws
• Propose solutions-oriented angles: While critical of status quo policies, he highlights innovative approaches like co-housing trusts or adaptive reuse projects