Good morning, British Columbia. Welcome to your edition of Sunrise.

CITY

(Ian Kobylanski / Holborn Group)

A massive development is being proposed for downtown Vancouver that would transform the city's skyline

A Vancouver developer wants to transform the downtown skyline with a massive development encompassing nearly two entire downtown blocks. It would include a trio of skyscrapers, the largest of which would reach more than 300 metres — the tallest in the city.

The project would be almost 50 per cent taller than the current tallest in Metro Vancouver, which is Two Gilmore Place in Burnaby at 218 m (64 storeys).

The project has been nearly two decades in the making. Now is the right time to move forward, says the president of developer Holborn Group, as Vancouver is growing bigger with "ambitions to be more like a world-class city."

Holborn has applied to build a project, designed by Henriquez Partners Architects, which involves a total of four towers at two different downtown locations.

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REAL ESTATE

(PNG file)

'Don't always go up': Bulk of Metro Vancouver presale condos sold in 2022 and 2023 now appraised below original price

Thousands of presale buyers in Metro Vancouver face completing their purchase of condos that are now worth less than they were in 2022 and 2023 when they signed the contracts to buy them.

Why it matters: As a result, lenders will only write smaller mortgages. That means condo buyers have to satisfy lenders by ponying up the difference between the unit’s value in 2022 or 2023 and what it is worth now, either by putting in more cash or refinancing.

• A Vancouver appraiser who works with banks, law firms and mortgage brokers is raising the alarm because the buildings are now built and developers are trying to finalize sales.

What they're saying: “Presales don’t always go up. There was that mindset where if it happened before, it’s going to happen again,” said Adam Lawrenson, owner of Vancouver-based Adlaw Appraisals. “I can’t say an exact number, but over half (of appraisals) are now coming in below their sale price.”

You should know: With sellers dropping prices to speed up sales, that sets a new base for future, lower, appraisals.

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IN BRIEF

• Mounties in Richmond have arrested a man accused of firing an airgun and stabbing a police dog. RCMP say that shortly before 2:30 a.m. police got a call from a man in distress. Police mapped the man’s location to rural farmland in the southeast of No. 4 Road and Westminster Highway, RCMP said. Officers, with the help of a police dog, found the man. The dog is in stable condition, RCMP said.

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MISCELLANEOUS

• Majority of Canadians feel unwelcome and unsafe travelling to United States: new poll

• Doug Ford says Carney should extend an olive branch to the West. Liberal strategists agree

• Why did Trump take another shot at Chrystia Freeland during the Oval Office meeting with Carney?

• A photo of a football game and golf gear: What Canada's gifts to Trump say about a 'relationship reset'

• Malfunctioning missiles purchased by Canadian Army for personnel in Latvia now fixed

• Hockey Canada trial: Complainant quizzed on lawsuit details, drinking

• 'A real transition for our whole economy:' Ontario to double the amount of electricity it can store

• RCMP scaling back search for missing Nova Scotia children

• ‘This man wanted more than to deliver my food’: Newfoundland woman shaken after encounter with DoorDash driver

• U.S. as the 11th province could be 'the best thing': Shatner jokingly makes a counter-offer to Trump

WORD FOR WORD

(Urmila Jagannathan)

“There’s 75 years of history in the basement we are trying to save. But emotionally, it’s super-hard for me because my studio has been devastated, but I’m still there in the building trying to salvage somebody else’s work.”

— Vancouver shoemaker Amy Slosky on losing everything in the fire in the old Dayton Boots building last month

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OPINION

Vaughn Palmer: NDP's fast-track legislation condemned by B.C. Indigenous leaders

VICTORIA — Premier David Eby was to meet with Indigenous leaders on Wednesday night after they complained he’d failed to properly consult them about the government’s new Infrastructure Projects Act.

“I’ve got some work to do tonight with the leadership council,” Eby conceded to reporters at a midday news conference in Victoria. “There’s clearly some misunderstandings about this legislation and I hope to be able to clear them up.”

The Infrastructure Projects Act, Bill 15, gives the NDP cabinet broad powers to override existing regulations and authorities and expedite approval of major projects, public and private.

The New Democrats provided the finished text with Indigenous leaders before introducing the bill last Thursday.

However, the government did not consult First Nations during the drafting process, as required by the NDP government’s own policies regarding the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

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ELECTION 2025

(The Canadian Press)

Special ballots kept in B.C. riding

Over 800 special ballots cast during the recent federal election were mistakenly kept at the office of a returning officer in Metro Vancouver, Elections Canada says.

Context: The agency says all registered political parties have been informed that 822 special ballots cast in the riding of Coquitlam–Port Coquitlam for 74 other electoral districts in Canada were left in the office of the returning officer for Coquitlam–Port Coquitlam.

• Elections Canada says the ballots should have been returned to its headquarters by April 28 at 6 p.m. to allow them to be counted.

You should know: Elections Canada says an initial analysis shows that election outcomes were not affected by the mislaid ballots.

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THE NEW YORK TIMES CROSSWORD

47 Across. Egg tart filling

MORE GAMES

Sudoku

KenKen

Universal crossword

WHAT'S FOR DINNER?

(Genevieve Renee)