Owen McShane: 1941-2012 – March 13, 2012
Newgeography.com lost a one of its first columnists, a regular contributor and good friend with the passing of Owen McShane.

Housing Here Among World's Most Affordable – February 4, 2011
Frontier Centre in the media from the Times & Transcript (Moncton).

Municipal Expropriation for Economic Development: A Tied-Up David v. Goliath Battle – August 4, 2009
Landowners across Manitoba, and in four other provinces, are not safe as provincial governments allow municipalities to expropriate land for economic development—without any real procedural safeguards.

Expropriating for Economic Development: A Carte Blanche for Municipal Mismanagement – July 27, 2009
Provincial legislators should eliminate the practice of allowing municipal expropriation for economic development purposes as it allows for sweeping governmental abuse.

Media Release - Municipal Land-Grabbing Powers Should be Curtailed – July 27, 2009
”This example demonstrates the need for clear legislative reform for individual property owners who find themselves in similar situations. A process to allow municipalities to expropriate for dubious economic development purposes also exists in other provinces and in jurisdictions outside Canada. However, there are encouraging signs in that many jurisdictions, particularly in the United States, have taken proactive steps to prevent this abuse of individual property rights; as such, they provide a model for Canadian provinces.”

BUTLER: Dumping 'Smart Growth' Is Wise – March 13, 2009
If we are going to get out of the housing mess, it doesn´t just mean fixing the mortgage market or - as some argue - bailing out homeowners. It also means scaling back the rules in many jurisdictions that continue to artificially push up new house prices and fan the pressure for huge mortgages.

The Case For Affordable Housing In Regina – March 7, 2009
The Canadian Centre for Policy alternatives realizes some home truths about affordable housing: “[Inclusionary zoning] amounts to a narrowly focused tax that aims to serve a broad social function. The real estate industry has become a target because people view the lack of affordable housing as a real estate problem. However, experience in other jurisdictions suggests it is more of an income distribution and regulatory problem…. While attention is focused on distribution of the housing pie, the fundamental supply problems remain unsolved. A better approach is to enlarge the pie to be shared.”

Subject to Approval – November 26, 2008
The choice of early Canadians to remain closely tied to the British Empire had a major impact on the development of property rights in this country. Although we as a society tend to see ourselves as having more in common with the United States than with the United Kingdom, our system of land ownership, more accurately called real property ownership, does not permit the same level of rights and freedoms over the land we hold as the U.S. system affords. In the United States, landowners usually hold title to the mineral resources located beneath their land; in Canada, this is never the case.

Media Release: Short-term Costs for Long-term Finality – November 20, 2008
First Nations and Canadian taxpayers need a new expedited approach that prioritizes specific land claims and moves towards a final filing deadline.

The Seven Habits of Highly Successful Governments – April 21, 2008
This report identifies seven areas where the new provincial government, Members of Legislative Assembly, and staff, should review and reform existing government policy measures.

Municipal Tax and Municipal Tax Reliance – February 15, 2008
Frontier's Local Government Frontiers Project collected various financial data from Canada's 30th largest cities in 2007. This Charticle presents the levels of taxation imposed collected divided by the number of households counted in each jurisdiction.

In Defense Of Sprawl – June 27, 2007

Suburbs Still the Choice in Canada – March 29, 2007
The Globe and Mail thinks that census data confirm a Canadian distaste for suburban life. In fact, the data say just the opposite. The wealthier we get, the more our cities spread.

Winnipeg: Streamline Housing Approvals – July 29, 2006
Restrictive land-use policies are reducing Winnipeg's significant advantage in home affordability.

Let's Worry about Stagnation, not Sprawl – December 5, 2002
An analysis of Winnipeg's population trends reveals we should be worried about the lack of growth, not "sprawl"

A Conversation with John Norquist (On Cities) – October 25, 2002
The first of a two part interview with policy innovator Milwaukee Mayor John Norquist

2002 Canada Property Tax Comparison – October 4, 2002
2002 comparison of effective residential property tax levels in major Canadian cities

Government Policy Hamstrings Downtown Revival – March 1, 2002
The Frontier Centre's offices are located in the Hammond Building, in Winnipeg's historic Exchange District.