One philanthropist, 99 tiny homes

In the upcoming March issue of Maclean’s, we’re publishing something pretty rare: a heartwarming story about the housing crisis in Canada. It's about a software tycoon named Marcel LeBrun, who sold his startup to Salesforce for hundreds of millions of dollars. He was so distraught by the sight of encampments in his city, Fredericton, New Brunswick, that he decided to pour his own fortune into building new homes.

In the story, Maclean’s writer Sarah Treleaven illustrates how LeBrun moved much faster than any government agency could. He purchased a plot of land, hired a crew and oversaw the construction of almost 100 tiny affordable homes. His research told him that offering unhoused people safe, warm places to live gives them access to services that might help them turn their lives around. And so far it’s working.

—Sarah Fulford, editor-in-chief

In Ontario, the dreaded N13 eviction notice—also known as a renoviction—informs renters that they must vacate their home because the unit needs major renovations. When Hamilton city councillor Nrinder Nann took office in 2018, she noticed an uptick in reports of renovictions across the city. So she partnered with an advocacy organization and began pushing for an anti-renoviction bylaw, which passed in January. Maclean’s editor H.G. Watson spoke to Nann about this first-in-Ontario bylaw, her years-long battle and how the policy will protect Hamilton’s renters.

As 2023 came to a close, British Columbia recorded one of its warmest Decembers in recent history—the third-mildest since 1896. It was good news for hikers and cyclists, but not so much for ski hills. Apex Mountain Ski Resort, a ski and snowboarding destination in the Okanagan Valley, had to delay the opening of several of its 80 runs. We spoke to James Shalman, the resort’s general manager, about how the unpredictable forecast has affected his business and his outlook on the future of Western Canada’s ski industry.

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Montreal-born Yannick Nézet-Séguin won a Grammy on Sunday evening—but he’s long been a rockstar in the classical music world. At 13, he became the youngest student ever admitted to the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal. By 25, he was named the artistic director of Montreal’s Orchestre Métropolitain. And now, at 48, Nézet-Séguin is also the musical director of the Philadelphia Orchestra and New York’s Metropolitan Opera. In this interview, he chats with Maclean’s editor Katie Underwood about his remarkable career as a conductor and his recent foray into Hollywood.

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