Vancouver's new rental apartments are not very 'livable'

I read today's Douglas Todd column in the Vancouver Sun about the poor design of so many new apartments with considerable interest. While I disagree with the headline: Hunger for profit has led to insufficient housing', I agree with the comments from Brian Palmquist that many new studio and one-bedroom units are not livable. They are designed for selling, or to get approvals, not for living. https://epaper.vancouversun.com/article/281749865330501

Coincidentally, this past week I came across a new westside rental apartment building now being leased by a very well-known and capable developer. As required by the city, there are two- and three-bedroom units, in addition to the tiny studio and one-bedroom units Mr. Todd wrote about. But when you look carefully, even the larger suites are not truly livable, especially for families with children. 

So I posted the following plans and comments on Facebook, adding that if I can't stop the councillors from approving high-rise buildings on streets where they don't belong given the urban design considerations, hopefully I can convince them not to approve these buildings since so many of the units will not be very livable, especially for households with children.  

Below are some excerpts from my Facebook posts which have attracted a lot of comments, even from a former metro mayor who noted that he too had foolishly bought a condo, only to discover upon moving in that the plan wasn't very functional. Denise Ryan also took time to add some comments as well.

Facebook friends asked if these units are for families, where do you put the child strollers? Good point.

As a former CMHC architect, I have always had a keen interest in designing floor plans that are livable. Perhaps that is why I notice things that others miss. If the federal government really is going to make a lot of money available for housing, hopefully it will take a renewed interest in what's being built with its money  In this regard, I can only wonder what the suites are like in the Senakw development given all the slanting walls that presumably shrink the units as the building rises. But that's another story for another day.

I should add that if you look more closely, you'll see there is no room for bedside tables, let alone a dresser in the second bedroom of this $4,000 a month apartment.

How undervaluation of Vancouver sites could cost millions in property taxes - Canadian Press June 12, 2025

Readers of this blog may recall that earlier this year I initiated a third-party appeal of the BC Property Assessment of the Dunsmuir Hotel property after the owner, Holborn Properties allowed it to deteriorate to such a degree that the city ordered it demolished. And I was successful.  https://gellersworldtravel.blogspot.com/2025/04/from-city-hall-watch-bc-assessment.html

In early April, Nono Shen, a journalist with Canadian Press contacted me after City Hall Watch published its story and we had several frank and free-wheeling discussions about why I undertook the appeal. After speaking to me, I referred her to Jen St. Jens of The Tyee and she followed up with Derek Holloway, a former BC Assessor, and Robert Renger, a city hall watcher, who were also quoted in the City Hall Watch story.

Yesterday, her story went live and received considerable attention across the country. It was repeated in the Globe and Mail, National Post, Business in Vancouver, North Shore News, Victoria Colonist, Toronto Star and dozens of other media under the headline 'How undervaluation of Vancouver sies could cost millions in property taxes'. 

Those knowledgeable about the property tax system in BC know this headline is not correct. Undervaluation does not cost millions in property taxes. Municipalities determine property taxes using mill rates, that are based on the amount of money they need from taxes, and the total value of assessed properties in various categories - business and other, industrial, residential, etc. If assessed values go down, mill rates go up.

However, the undervaluation of commercial properties can increase the property taxes collected from other classes of properties, especially residential properties. 

That aside, below is Nono's story. 

VANCOUVER — Retired architect Michael Geller says he's always keen to restore some "justice" to Vancouver's real estate scene.

So, when he noticed an official BC Assessment valuation of about $6.4 million on the site of a former heritage hotel in downtown Vancouver — about a third of its true value for tax purposes, by Geller's reckoning — he felt he had to act.

"The point is we all go through life, and when we see things that aren't fair, some people say: 'Oh, I'm not going to get involved.' I usually get involved when I don't think something's fair, so that's why I did it," said Geller.

His third-party appeal against the valuation of the site at 500 Dunsmuir Street, owned by developer Holborn Properties Ltd., yielded agreement from B.C.'s property assessment review panel, which increased the valuation to $18.9 million, in line with Geller's estimate.

He said that means property taxes on the site of about 12,000 square feet will increase by at least $130,000 for Holborn.

“I was pleased," said Geller upon seeing the new valuation. "We got some satisfaction."

Observers of Metro Vancouver's real estate scene say the site of the 115-year-old Dunsmuir Hotel, which was demolished in January after falling into what the city called "severe structural deterioration," is far from unique.

Retired appraiser Derek Holloway said B.C. could be losing hundreds of millions in property taxes due to underassessment, while retired Burnaby city planner Robert Renger said municipalities seem to take little interest fixing underassessments that can be obscured by loopholes.

They say the use of company ownership changes to dodge property transfer taxes make it difficult for BC Assessment to do its job, and the agency needs to be strengthened to give appraisers power to compel owners to respond to requests for information.

Geller said he appealed to the review panel in February after noticing the "ridiculously low" valuation of $6,375,000, which worked out to about a third of the per-square-foot valuations of five surrounding properties.

For instance, Geller wrote in his appeal, the land at 570 Dunsmuir Street next door had been assessed at $1,572 per square foot, compared to about $540 per square foot at Holborn's site.

He said he was particularly aggrieved by the treatment of the hotel by Holborn leading up to its demolition, "and then they got rewarded by getting a lower assessment."

The firm has also been criticized for years over the slow pace of development at its Little Mountain site in Vancouver that it bought off the provincial government in 2008, a sale that resulted in the displacement of hundreds of residents from social housing.

"So, I appealed it," said Geller.

Holborn said in a statement that it received the reassessment and its priority for the site was working with the city on a redevelopment to deliver housing, "activate the street" and contribute to downtown Vancouver's economic revitalization.

Holloway, who was an appraiser with BC Assessment for 28 years, said he had identified hundreds of under-assessed properties in recent years, calling them “the tip of the iceberg.”

For instance, Holloway pointed to two sites on the 4400 block of Kingsway in Burnaby, sold for $145 million in 2022. But their assessed values have never come close to that, peaking at $69.7 million in 2024.

In 2025, they were assessed at $58.2 million.

Then there is the 14-acre former Oakridge Transit Centre on West 41st Avenue in Vancouver, which transit provider TransLink sold for $440 million in 2016. Holloway said its assessment has never neared the sales price, and BC Assessment currently has it valued at $271.1 million.

The site was resold to developer Grosvenor, which says it plans to build 1,630 homes there.

Holloway said he suspected BC Assessment had never seen a copy of either sales agreement.

He said BC Assessment often accepts the property owner's position when assessing such sites because the agency is afraid to exercise its "very limited power" within the Assessment Act, and it lacks reliable market information.

"They have very limited expertise for the valuation of large, sophisticated properties, and finally and most importantly, their other customer, the taxing jurisdiction is not interested. They can always say that they were just relying on BC Assessment, (and say) it is their fault, not ours" said Holloway.

'THAT'S HOW MEDIANS AND AVERAGES WORK'

BC Assessment said in an email that it can’t comment on any individual case.

But Bryan Murao, the Crown corporation's assessor for residential Lower Mainland, said in an interview that it’s easy for critics to pick sales that exceed assessed value. Others could point to sales below assessment.

“I mean, that's how medians and averages work,” said Murao, “I think it's been convenient for people to go and pick the sales they want to try to prove something that they're trying to prove.”

He said an assessor looks into every single sale that comes through, although he was aware of practices in which commercial properties are traded without actual title transfers.

"We do our best to try to find every single type of sale that occurs in the market, and to be able to include that in our analysis that we use to determine how much properties are worth."

The legal transfer of properties by use of company ownership is a well established way to avoid the property transfer tax that is incurred when title changes hands. The change of beneficial ownership is instead achieved by selling a company that owns a site, so title does not actually change.

Renger, a retired senior development planner for the City of Burnaby, B.C., applauded Geller’s intervention in the Dunsmuir case, calling him “a hero.”

But he said he was disappointed the City of Vancouver didn't do so first.

"They are not trying to protect the little guy," said Renger, "Basically, they could have done the appeal that Michael did."

He said many sales in B.C. involve bare trust companies, in which legal ownership of a site is separate from true beneficial ownership, making it more difficult for authorities to trace records.

When it comes time to sell the property, the bare trust company is sold to the new owner, without triggering any property transfer tax since there is no change in title.

“It makes it a bit harder for people, both the public and BC Assessment, to track sales that are happening because they're not well-documented,” said Renger.

Holloway agreed, pointing to bare trusts and deferred sale completion dates as ways to keep BC Assessment "in the dark."

He said sections of the Assessment Act were "toothless," allowing some property owners to ignore BC Assessment requests for information without penalty or serious consequences.

Holloway said his own reviews have revealed "hundreds of under-assessed properties" and extrapolating this across B.C. could mean "hundreds of millions of lost property taxes."

The Ministry of Finance said in a statement that it's important that commercial property owners pay their fair share, and the province "closely follows reports of under-assessed properties."

It said the ministry also audits property transfer tax payments, which helps ensure transparency from commercial property owners.

The City of Vancouver said it "respects and relies" on BC Assessment’s expertise in property assessment, and the city typically does not initiate appeals or apply for intervener status unless they pose "significant precedent-setting implications."

Geller said big developers are usually armed with experienced consultants to appeal to BC Assessment and its “relatively small number” of professionals, putting the assessor in a "David and Goliath" situation.

He said that if commercial assessments are too low, the burden of tax paying might be shifted to the residential property owners.

“And that's why I did go around to my friends and said: as a result of this appeal, I may have knocked a couple of cents off your property taxes,” said Geller.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 11, 2025.

Nono Shen, The Canadian PressVANCOUVER — 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 11, 2025.

Nono Shen, The Canadian Press

 

 

Lock-off Suites gaining increased popularity - CBC- June 9th 2025

Last week I had a call from Jon Hernandez, a video journalist with CBC. He was doing a story about a developer who had decided to include 8 lock-off suites in a new Surrey highrise. Jon was told by SFU's Andy Yan to talk to me since the concept was my 'brainchild' when I was president of the SFU Community Trust overseeing the development of UniverCity on Burnaby Mountain two decades ago. 

Lock-off suites are essentially a portion of a larger apartment similar to a second or third ensuite bedroom. However, what makes them special is an additional door to the corridor, a small kitchenette area, and other small features. 

I got the idea after being criticized by SFU students for building primarily condos in the new UniverCity community. They wanted student housing. I asked where they were living at the time, and it was often in a basement suite in a house in Burnaby or elsewhere in the region. This got me thinking. 

Why couldn't you create the equivalent of a basement suite in an apartment? 

After all, units with interlocking doors were often included in resort developments to accommodate different households. 

At UniverCity, I expected the unit would be rented out like a basement suite and also become a 'mortgage helper' for buyers. Tyee journalist, the late Monte Paulson, called them 'Mortgage Helpers in the Sky!

Alternatively, this suite layout might suit a grandparent or an adult child, or even a future caregiver. A key consideration was that it would make it easier for developers to sell larger 3-bedroom units that are otherwise difficult to pre-sell. 

What I didn't expect was a great deal of interest from investors attracted by Intergulf's ad in a Korean newspaper marketing "Two suites for the price of one!"

During our meeting, Jon asked an interesting question. Could the lock-off unit become a short term rental unit? A good question. I suspect it could be subject to certain conditions, as set out in this AI answer (below).

Jon's news video can be found here. 

https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/video/9.6790214 

After our Burnaby Mountain meeting, Jon asked for some additional information. While I was aware of  several developments incorporating lock-off suites, including two projects in the British Properties and North Vancouver, I discovered a considerable number of units have been built in Vancouver and elsewhere around the world. I also found a lengthy Masters Thesis dissertation prepared by Linda Gillian, an SFU student following Vancouver's approval of lock-off  suites. 

https://summit.sfu.ca/_flysystem/fedora/sfu_migrate/17630/etd10456_LGillan.pdf

Below is some additional information and images.

This unit is included in a building with an exterior corridor

A 3-D image of the floor plan above. 

One of the original units in Novo at UniverCity. While I assumed developers would make a third bedroom the secondary suite, in this plan it was a second bedroom

In addition to including suites in apartments, UniverCity included some suites in two storey townhouse units. This has become increasingly popular in Vancouver and elsewhere.


For more information check out these media stories from CTV, the Globe and Mail, and an earlier blog post.

https://www.ctvnews.ca/vancouver/article/suite-within-a-suite-offers-new-affordable-housing-solution/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qeij4h5LA6o

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/real-estate/vancouver/article-vancouver-faces-the-thorny-problem-of-following-through-on-promise-for/

https://gellersworldtravel.blogspot.com/2018/03/lock-off-suites-can-act-as-handy.html

https://www.urbanyvr.com/west-23rd-and-yukon/

Conversations that Matter. Careers that Matter - Stu McNish, Vancouver Sun May 31, 2025

Last week I did an interview with Stu McNish who produces Conversations that Matter as well as Conversations Live, regarding the federal governments new housing policies and the selection of Gregor Robertson as the new housing minister. Yesterday the interview went live in the Vancouver Sun. Another interview I taped with Stu discussing my career as an architect, planner, developer, and failed politician, accompanied the main interview.

You can find the two interviews here. https://vancouversun.com/business/conversations-that-matter-canadas-housing-crisis and https://youtu.be/HgcOcSmJrLY?si=d9_P8M1ARncH3T7p

For those of you, which is likely all of you, who do not wish to take the time to watch these interviews, the following are a few highlights.

Prime Minister Mark Carney, of whom I am a fan, is promising to double the number of new homes built across Canada in the next year or two. Based on my 50+ years experience in housing, including 10 years at CMHC, I believe this is completely unrealistic.

Had the prime ministers announced that next year Canada would increase the number of new homes by 10%, and 20% in two years, and 30% in three years, etc I would have thought this was possible. But given that Canada has never built as many homes per capita since 1972 when I was at CMHC, we can’t double the number of homes

For one thing we do not have the labour force. Carney has suggested we can address this by building homes in a factory. As my friends and family well know, I've been a proponent of factory-built housing since1970 when I journeyed across the United States studying factory construction on a CMHC Travelling Scholarship.

Subsequently, I have often predicted in my year-end Vancouver Sun outlook columns that the following year would be the year factory production would become popular. Until this year, I've been consistently wrong!

During my interview I mentioned that I recently attended a manufactured housing conference in Penticton where I visited the Moduline factory . Although it has capacity for 800 homes a year, it is currently producing only 200 homes a year due to a lack of demand, and shortage of available workers.

These are just two of the reasons why Canada will not be building 500,000 homes a year soon, with or without factory-built housing. (While I didn’t mention it in the interview, shortly after the conference, the nearby SRI factory closed down.)

That said some of the federal promises are both realistic and appropriate. It makes sense to eliminate the GST for first time buyers on homes under $1,000,000, (the government recently amended this promise to include partial GST rebates on homes up to $1.5 million.)

It also makes sense to bring back the Multiple Unit Residential Program (MURB) which in the late 1970s and early 1980s offered tax incentives to investors in new rental housing projects.

This would be helpful since so many recent provincial, federal and municipal programs including the ban on foreign buyers, the Empty Home and Speculation and Vacancy Taxes, the limitations on short-term rentals, and anti-flipping taxes, etc. have had the unintended consequence of essentially killing the investor market and new housing developments. What wasn’t appreciated is that investors were essential to allow developers to achieve the required number of presales to finance these new condominium projects, which offered both ownership housing, but also new rental housing stock.

Now, as for Gregor Robertson, if you want to know if I thought he was a good choice, you’ll have to watch the end of the video!

In the career video I am asked whether I expected to be involved in the wide range of activities that I have undertaken over the years.  I admited that I did not, although I always wanted and expected to become a property developer since I was a young boy who played with Bayko. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bayko  

I mention that when I was with CMHC back in the 70s then president Bill Teron told my colleagues that one day I would be a developer in Vancouver!

In the interview I also discuss why I ran for City Council in 2008 and two things to which I attribute some success. Reading Edward deBono and keeping a personal journal!

 

The Broadway Plan - Is Council finally responding to community concerns? Vancouver Sun May 9, 2025

Over the past three years I have expressed numerous concerns about the Broadway Plan: the inappropriate contextual fit between the existing streetscapes of lowrise homes and new 18-20 storey towers, often ten times the height and density of the existing homes; the lack of any additional parkspace and community amenities; and the potential loss of affordable rental housing. I say 'potential' since I am convinced that many of the projects, especially those replacing existing lowrise apartment buildings may not proceed. 

This is particularly true of the projects proposed by HAVN Developments Ltd. A review of their website, https://havn-dev.com/company reveals that the company has three proposed developments along the Broadway Corridor. However, while the principals have real estate experience, there is no evidence that the company has ever financed or built a project. This has led many in the affected neighbourhoods to believe they are simply assembling and seeking approval to rezone sites, with the intention of then flipping them to others.

As a result, they and their architects have paid little attention to building designs, especially suite designs. As I have previously written, the suite layouts are just awful, especially those below market units intended for households with children.

I have attempted to speak with Adrian Lai but he has ignored me. More significantly, the principals have ignored the neighbourhoods in which they are seeking approvals, and refused to address neighbourhood concerns at public meetings and Council.

I was therefore pleased to receive a call from the Vancouver Sun's Joanne Lee-Young this week who invited me to comment on Council's decision to refer one of HAVN's proposals back to staff. I was in Penticton at the time and not aware of this decision, so watched the May 6th Council meeting video before speaking with her. 

From the meeting, it was clear that councillors shared the genuine concerns about the shaddowing of a small park, immediately adjacent to the site. However, the Broadway Plan foolishly allowed this. I therefore suspect that given all the other applications coming forward, totalling thousands of units, Council may be getting the message that if they must approve projects, at least they should approve the best ones from the more qualified and experienced developers. 

And maybe, just maybe it's time to refine the plan and consider exluding those that are causing the greatest concerns in lovely, established neighbourhoods such as the one in which this is proposed. Below is Ms. Lee-Young's article.

Vancouver city council sent a rezoning application for a new residential rental tower in Mount Pleasant back to staff this week for more work, a move some interpret as a response to growing public criticism of the high-density Broadway plan.

Some residents and observers hope the decision to ask questions rather than just approve the application is a sign the city’s governing ABC party is paying more attention to how the plan affects public spaces and amenities, given the party’s loss in April’s byelection to fill two council seats.

Addressing the main problem identified by council will be possible only if there is a big cut to the height and density of the building, according to staff, who said it will take at least six months before a revised application can be presented at a public hearing.

“When politicians oppose a development, they often camouflage their true intentions with other considerations,” said Michael Geller, a retired architect, planner and developer, who is an opponent of the project.

He noted council voted to explore reducing the shadow the proposed tower would cast on Major Matthews Park, a small green space on a single lot that is beside the site. This is despite the Broadway plan listing parks, including this one, where it “may not be feasible” and “particularly challenging due to the size and location” to avoid shadowing by towers.

“While (shadowing) is very much a concern for them and the community, I was trying to read the minds of the councillors. Were they also using this to perhaps camouflage other concerns?” suggested Geller.

He said he hopes “council is now getting the message and is slowly going to look at ways to refine the plan and maybe this decision is the first indication of that.”

The Broadway plan was approved in 2022 by a previous council and aims to add about 50,000 residents by allowing tall towers in an area of 500 city blocks.

HAVN Developments Ltd., which submitted the rezoning application, hasn’t responded to Postmedia News questions. HAVN’s website lists plans for three rental towers in the Broadway plan area.

In late November, council approved a rezoning application by HAVN for an 18-storey rental tower on West 14th Avenue near Arbutus.

But this time, at public hearings for the West 11th Avenue rezoning, there was discussion about the developer’s lack of a building track record and about the design renderings it submitted.

Liesbeth Thoraval, who lives in the area, said she got the impression city councillors were unhappy with the developer because a representative didn’t show up at the meeting and because they’re proposing a similar design to its other proposals.

Former city planner Sandy James, who believes the Broadway plan needs more public spaces and amenities, said the plans for all three of HAVN’s proposals “are remarkably similar and there is no design context. It is the same building and design.”

jlee-young@postmedia.com

EXPO 2025 OSAKA - MORE IMAGES FROM AROUND THE SITE

The primary access to the EXPO site is from a new station built at the end of a subway extension connecting the EXPO site to the city

The EXPO site, like the Dubai EXPO, is organized by separate theme areas. All the national pavilions are located within the Grand Ring, a large mass timber multi-storey structure that encircles the site.

Unlike the Dubai EXPO, it is difficult to get around the Osaka site. These people movers travel around the outside of the Grand Ring, but there are only 6 stops along the 2 km route. There need to be more. While electric tricycles are available by lottery, they cannot be rented. Another failing. More transportation options are needed, especially for old men like me.

A large landscaped area can be found in the centre of the grand ring, which provides a nice space to rest and relax

Some of the national pavilions are most impressive. 

A view of the site from the walkway atop of the Grand Ring.

While most of the visitors were domestic, others had travelled from afar, like these gentlemen who were everywhere at the Dubai EXPO.

The Philippines pavilion was one of the most beautiful, especially at night.

The Shining Hat serves as the main EXPO hall and theatre. The opening ceremonies were held inside and theatrical and other events take place nightly.

At night, the Shining Hat becomes a constantly changing giant screen for image projection.

The Japan pavilion is most impressive, by day and by night.

One of many pieces of public art that can be found around the site.

The US pavilion, with its giant screens, is next to the French Pavilion

Views from the top of the Grand Ring. As was the case in Dubai, a lot of the pavilions incorporate extensive amounts of wood. All of these pavilions, along with the Grand Ring, will be dismantled after the fair is over.

The Chinese pavilion is one of the most impressive, both inside and out.

CANADA - ONE OF 158 COUNTRIES REPRESENTED AT EXPO 2025 OSAKA

Ever since the first modern exposition was held in London in 1851, world fairs have allowed countries to showcase their achievements, cultures, and technologies, oftentimes with surprising long-lasting results.

Canadians do not need to be told this. Many of us remember Montreal’s EXPO 86, aka Man and his World. It featured an innovative monorail travelling through Buckminster Fuller’s massive geodesic dome and Moishe Safdie’s Habitat 67 with its stacked prefabricated concrete modules creating gardens in the sky. Now, sixty years later, modular housing is back in the news as a potential way to dramatically increase the amount of housing that needs to be built every year.

Most Vancouverites still have vivid memories of EXPO 86. Although it was not a formally designated Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) World Exposition, it celebrated Vancouver’s Centennial by inviting the world. And the world came. More than 22 million attended with a single-day record of 341,806 visitors. 

EXPO 86 gave us Canada Place, BC Place Stadium, SkyTrain, and established Vancouver as a global destination. Prior to EXPO, Metro Vancouver’s annual population increase was approximately 1.5%. Following EXPO, it doubled to 3.0%. EXPO 86 changed Vancouver forever. Whether it was for better or worse depends on who you talk to.

EXPO 67 and 86 are not the only world fairs that left a legacy. The elevator was first introduced at the 1853 World’s Fair in New York. Electric streetlighting became popular following Melbourne’s 1880 Exposition.

At the Paris Expo in 1889, the Eiffel Tower was unveiled to the world. While some Parisians hoped it would be dismantled after the fair, fortunately they did not get their way.

Other exposition firsts included the Ferris Wheel displayed at the 1893 Chicago World Fair; the ice cream cone made popular at the 1904 World Fair in St. Louis; and television broadcasting, first seen at the 1939 World Fair in New York.

In addition to EXPO 67 and 86, I have been fortunate to visit EXPOs in Lisbon, Shanghai, Yeosu Korea, and Dubai. One reason I like to attend them is because they offer glimpses of the future. This week I am at EXPO 2025 in Osaka Japan which began on April 13th. Here the future is truly on display.

This is not Osaka’s first World Exposition. Some Vancouver Sun readers will recall EXPO 1970 was also held in Osaka. It attracted over 64 million people which was the largest attendance at any world fair until EXPO 2020 in Dubai.

EXPO 2025 occupies a 155-hectare (383 acres) site on a new man-made island, connected to the city by a subway line extension. 

Every world fair has a theme, and this one is "Designing Future Society for Our Lives". 

There are three sub-themes: "Saving Lives," "Empowering Lives," and "Connecting Lives". These sub-themes are intended to address aspects of human well-being, social inclusion, and global interconnectedness. 

The most striking feature of the site is an impressive, multi-storey ‘Grand Ring’, approximately 2 km in circumference, constructed out of mass-timber. All national pavilions are located within the ring to symbolise the need for international cooperation. Domestic pavilions are located on the outside. 

158 countries and regions, plus 7 international organizations are participating at this EXPO. One notable absentee is Russia.

Over the coming weeks, I will share some highlights of EXPO 2025. Today I would like to invite you into the Canadian Pavilion. 

Our pavilion occupies a prime location between Portugal and the United Arab Emirates. Upon first view, its white, geometric forms seem to reinforce the over-used cliché of Canada as the Great White North. 

I was fortunate to have a chance encounter with Laurie Peters, Commissioner General for the pavilion who was outside on the plaza during a false fire alarm. She told me the theme is not at all ‘The Great White North’. Rather, it is “Regeneration”. 

She noted the theme is also about empowering future generations through innovation and a commitment to a more sustainable and inclusive society.

Visitors will not read about this since there are not any words anywhere in the pavilion. Instead, as one of the designers told me, visitors will enjoy “a poetic, impressionist experience” thanks to augmented reality tablets handed out as each person enters the building. 

Canada’s National Day will be on May 17th. It will feature a presentation under the artistic direction of Robert Lepage and Steve Blanchet, where visitors will follow a river’s journey across Canada. More than 100 Canadian performers are expected on stage and in the event spaces.

I suspect most Canadians who visit this pavilion will feel proud of how our country is being presented, which was not the case for many who visited the Canadian pavilion in Dubai.

The creative team also includes ES Global, JKFL Productions, Soleil Launière as First Nations cultural advisor, Rayside Labossière architects, and architect Guillaume Pelletier.

Unlike Habitat 67 which was designed to last forever, this pavilion has been designed to be easily dismantled so the building components can be reused, consistent with the theme of sustainability.

EXPO 2025 continues to October 13th, 2025. It is well worth a visit.