The most-read columns of 2025 by journalist Douglas Todd reveal a clear and urgent preoccupation among readers with the powerful forces shaping life in Vancouver and across Canada. The dominant themes that captured public attention centered on extreme wealth, housing unaffordability, foreign influence, and the social costs of rapid growth.
The Billionaires and the Housing Market
Three ultra-wealthy Vancouver mansion owners featured prominently in the top-read stories, highlighting public fascination and concern with concentrated wealth. Weihong (Ruby) Liu, a billionaire citizen of China attempting to acquire parts of Hudson's Bay Company, led the list. Her case raised pointed questions about tax residency, as she lists her address in China despite owning significant assets in British Columbia, including three malls and a gated estate near UBC.
The intersection of wealth and housing was a persistent thread. Readers were deeply engaged with the revelation that investors now own one in three homes in Canada, a record flood identified as a core driver of the national housing crisis. The sentiment was echoed by major real estate figure Ross McCredie, CEO of Sutton Group, who described Metro Vancouver as having become a "resort" for global wealth, squeezing out local residents and their children from the market.
Population Pressures and Policy Challenges
Closely tied to housing was intense scrutiny of demographic changes. A reported population standstill was rattling Vancouver's housing industry in mid-2025, prompting developers to urge politicians to reconsider policies on domestic investors and foreign buyers to stimulate the cyclical downturn.
Meanwhile, the downsides of density were starkly illustrated in New Westminster, which has become Canada's second-densest city. The rapid rise in population has led to overcrowded schools, distressed urban trees, and rapidly rising property taxes, showcasing the tangible consequences of swift growth on infrastructure and community life.
Development Hurdles and International Rankings
On the ground, developers like James Evans pointed to specific policy challenges, arguing that building townhouses in Vancouver has become almost impossible due to new sweeping upzoning rules that promote multiplexes on single lots, stifling ground-oriented family housing.
Adding to the portrait of a city at a crossroads was Vancouver's disappointing performance in an international ranking, placing 36th out of 48 global cities—a result framed as a significant red flag regarding its competitiveness and livability.
The complete list of top columns, which also delved into themes of corruption and the impact of foreign students, underscores a year of profound public engagement with the economic and social pressures defining contemporary British Columbia. The collective readership demonstrated a keen appetite for investigative reporting on the powerful actors and policy decisions shaping the region's future.
