https://scenariojournal.com/article/made-in-australia/
https://theconversation.com/new-cities-its-an-idea-worth-thinking-about-for-australia-92990
https://www.indaily.com.au/opinion/2019/05/02/why-isnt-australia-planning-new-cities
Will Australia cope with the rise of mega cities? Australia 2050 (part 2) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4BBpqpXRCM
Australia’s insane plan to green the Outback https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGrDOR7lBQ4
https://www.solmigration.com/blog/canada-vs-australia/
Unfortunately, unless you like crappy, cold weather for half of the year, Australia is the better country.
https://financialpost.com/diane-francis/why-australia-doing-so-much-better-than-canada
https://www.canozvisas.com/blog/pros-and-cons-of-living-in-canada-vs-australia/
Two Economies, With One Set of Flaws: The Economies of Australia and Canada https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gu5lPuaZ9Jo
https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/what-we-do/migration-program-planning-levels
In several ways Australia will always win out over Canada, simply because Australia doesn't have to endure the carappy, cold Canadian winters.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/mar/21/migration-numbers-australia-2023-rise
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration_to_Australia#Current_immigration_programs
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-67609963
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia
https://www.fresheconomicthinking.com/p/australias-housing-crisis-was-just
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cq5wlevy647o
https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/population/population-clock-pyramid Still under 28 million in mid 2025.
https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/australias-welfare/housing-affordability
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-07-01/home-values-hit-record-highs-june-property-prices/105477426
https://population.gov.au/population-topics/topic-population
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia#Cities
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albany,_Western_Australia
https://gsdc.wa.gov.au/our-region/city-of-albany
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_of_Albany
https://www.westernaustralia.com/en/places/albany/56b266bb2cbcbe7073ae06bd
https://www.wa.gov.au/system/files/2021-11/LST-Albany.pdf
https://profile.id.com.au/albany/population-estimate
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Vancouver+Peninsula+WA+6330,+Australia
https://www.google.com/maps/place/West+Cape+Howe+National+Park
https://www.icontainers.com/us/2020/01/20/top-10-ports-australia
https://www.marineinsight.com/know-more/8-major-ports-in-australia
https://www.porttechnology.org/news/top-5-ports-in-australia-2021
https://container-news.com/top-10-the-busiest-container-ports-in-oceania
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_busiest_ports_by_cargo_tonnage
Interesting that the Olympic_Winter_Institute_of_Australia wasn't located in Hobart, rather than in Melbourne. Of course Melbourne is so much larger.
https://www.owia.org/ https://www.olympics.com.au/the-aoc/olympic-winter-institute-of-australia/
https://www.hsra.gov.au/high-speed-rail
If Australia gets around to this faster than Canada does, it might be because Australia is a warmer country. Most of Canada has to contend with cold & crappy weather for almost half of the year.
https://www.wsp.com/en-au/news/2024/transformational-high-speed-rail-network
A lot of the secondary cities in each state could become big in their own right.
Texas has a lot more people than Australia, yet it's a much smaller area & still has plenty of room.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1353829222001605
https://www.infrastructureaustralia.gov.au/sites/default/files/2019-06/future-cities-paper-web.pdf
https://scenariojournal.com/article/made-in-australia
Of course one expects Melbourne and Sydney to have all the big stuff. However, from a Canadian perspective, it's amazing to see that Australia has a 12 lane crossing in Brisbane & a 10 lane crossing in Perth. Such wide bridges just don't exist in Halifax, NS & Victoria, BC.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sir_Leo_Hielscher_Bridges 12 lanes.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narrows_Bridge_(Perth) 10 lanes.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narrows_Bridge_(Perth)#Railway_bridge:_2005 Seattle & Montreal would end up having their own version of a wide bridge with a train component as well. Of course, stubborn & backwards Greater Vancouver would be one of the last urban areas to ever allow such similar bridges.
It doesn't look like anyone from Canada was ever able to convince Australians to give up on bridge duplication & opt to just cram everything into 4 lanes or an inept 3+lane+bridge for two-way traffic.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Ef8p-kQDRs
It would be quite an irony if Canada went from being a colony of the UK to becoming a US state. It would be much better if Canada could officially become its own republic.
NZ would rather remain independent of Australia and not have to become an Australia state. Australia might eventually want to become its own republic, thus becoming fully independent of the UK. The same could eventually happen for NZ. Canada should never be too quick to give up and merely transfer from being under the authority of the UK to becoming absorbed by the US.
Canada, Australia & NZ should each all consider becoming their own republics. Alliances with the UK and the US can easily remain intact.
Living+in+Australia has so many perks and advantages. However, the cost of living isn't one of them.
https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/anita-anand-interprovincial-trade
Fortunately, Australia never adopted internal trade barriers like Canada did.
https://vancouversun.com/news/bc-eyes-nova-scotia-bill-reduce-interprovincial-trade-barriers
https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/article/why-is-it-so-hard-to-do-business-between-provinces
https://www.conferenceboard.ca/insights/insights-blogs-time-to-rethink-internal-trade-in-canada
There are some things that Australia got correct early on, why Canada is still trying to sort some issues out.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/interprovincial-trade-barriers-4-ways-1.7453530
"Canada has free trade agreements with 51 countries, and yet we have never been able to institute free trade within our own borders.
Despite decades of discussion, an array of non-tariff barriers still limits the free movement of people and goods across our provinces. From professional certifications to supply-managed products to regulations in a wide variety of industries, restrictions on interprovincial trade flows prevail." https://financialpost.com/news/economy/beyond-borders-internal-trade-barriers
Federalism and Sub-National Protectionism: a Comparison of the Internal Trade Regimes of Canada and Australia https://www.queensu.ca/iigr/sites/iirwww/files/uploaded_files/SmithAndrewWorkingPaper2015.pdf
There are some summer days in Australia when you really feel like you are in an oven.
Of course you can head up to Canada and freeze your A$$ off!
Extreme heat and extreme cold are just too uncomfortable and even dangerous.
https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2024/07/12/bc-place-lower-bowl-grey-cup-tickets-sold-out
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/grey-cup-tickets-selling-bc-place-lower-sells-out
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BC_Place
| Owner | Province of British Columbia |
|---|---|
| Operator | BC Pavilion Corporation (PavCo) |
| Executive suites | 50[1] |
| Capacity | |
| Record attendance | 65,061 (September 2, 2023, Ed Sheeran, +–=÷× Tour)[3] |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BC_Place#History
Of course the biggest stadium in BC would still have to have less capacity than Edmonton's, Perth's & Seattle's.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commonwealth_Stadium
| Owner | City of Edmonton |
|---|---|
| Capacity |
|
| Record attendance | 66,835 (U2 360° Tour) |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commonwealth_Stadium#History
The stadium's total capacity is 61,266, including standing room, making it the third-largest stadium in Australia (after the Melbourne Cricket Ground and Stadium Australia).[7] The stadium can be extended up to 65,000 seats for rectangular sports. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perth_Stadium
| Owner | Government of Western Australia VenuesWest |
|---|---|
| Operator | VenuesLive[4][5] |
| Capacity | 61,266[1] 65,000 (Rectangular)[2] 70,000 (Concert)[3] |
| Record attendance | 73,092, Ed Sheeran concert 12 March 2023 |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perth_Stadium#History
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lumen_Field
| Owner | Washington State Public Stadium Authority |
|---|---|
| Operator | First & Goal Inc. |
| Executive suites | 111 |
| Capacity | 68,740 (NFL) Expandable to 72,000 (for special events) 37,722 (MLS / XFL) Expandable to 68,740 (for special events) 10,000 (NWSL) |
| Record attendance | Concert: 77,286 (Ed Sheeran, August 26, 2023) Soccer: 69,274 (Seattle Sounders FC vs. Toronto FC, November 10, 2019) |
Given that most proper big cities around the world are permitted to build much taller & wider buildings than what is allowed in strict & stubborn Vancouver, BC, a curious thing has happened over the decades. When a tall tower is built in another city, next to it will be a Vancouver size stump of a building. However, the Vancouver stump isn't always part of the complex, The Vancouver Size Stump might be across the street or a block or so away. Yet, such a stumpy building can provide an excellent example of the larger scale that most big cities are allowed to exist upon.
A Vancouver Size stump in tall Toronto.
.jpg/640px-Elizabeth_Quay_February_2016_(cropped).jpg)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queensland
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queensland#Transport
Though it might be hard to believe, World_Expo_88 in Brisbane was much more of a catalyst than Expo_86 was for Vancouver. That's because unlike Brisbane, Vancouver imposed & doubled down on various infrastructure restrictions.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Expo_88#History
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expo_86#Legacy
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Columbia#Transportation
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queensland#Cities
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Columbia#Cities
After the Expo 88, Brisbane would go onto allowing significantly taller buildings, wider roads and especially longer trains than what backwards Vancouver is still stuck with. Of course Queensland would have larger port infrastructure than backwater BC as well.
Perhaps Australia is able to get things done on a bigger & better scale than Canada, because of the warmer year-round weather. Unfortunatly, backwards Vancouver & backwater BC seem to be hindered by something like a Mind Virus.
https://countryeconomy.com/countries/compare/australia/canada
https://www.fraserinstitute.org/commentary/heres-why-australians-make-more-money-canadians Fortunatly, Canada hasn't been able to convince Australia, NZ, UK, USA & France to remove blue from their national flag. Japan is surrounded by water & Switzerland has lakes & rivers, but even a speck of blue isn't allowed on the national flag.
https://www.rba.gov.au/publications/bulletin/2009/jun/pdf/bu-0609-4.pdf
https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/11f0027m/11f0027m2003018-eng.pdf
https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Brisbane
https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Queensland
https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Brisbane+Airport+Railway+Line
If you are visiting Vancouver or Victoria from Calgary or Edmonton, you will be shocked as to how narrow most of the bridges are in Greater Vancouver and Victoria. Edmonton was wise in the 1970s to have 125 m long underground LRT stations. Foolish Vancouver opted to only have 80 m stations on its first 2 lines and an absurd 50 m for the 3rd line.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Line_(Calgary) , https://www.calgary.ca/green-line.html
https://www.calgarytransit.com/plans---projects/lrt/green-line.html
https://engage.calgary.ca/greenline/UndergroundStations Fortunatly, any underground stations in Calgary will be closer in length to that of the Edmonton LRT and not backwards Vancouver.
https://www.railjournal.com/regions/north-america/tunnel-preferred-for-calgary-lrt-green-line/
https://www.calgary.ca/green-line/stations.html
The main roads and bridges in urban parts of Alberta are allowed to be wider than their counterparts in backwards BC. So while people in the urban parts of Alberta are concerned or even angry about rapid growth, at least Alberta can easily build more urban infrastructure. That's because Albertal isn't affect by the (unofficial) BC Mind Virus (BCMV).
A timely example is a new bridge between Surrey & NW. Despite Surrey being expected to become the largest city in BC, the new bridge will only open with 4 lanes. No 3rd or 4th lane each way for busses, HOVs and trucks. Thus, all the road traffic at either end is funneled into just 2 lanes each way. Plus, there are no breakdown or emergency lane, just like the old bridge.
While this new bridge can eventually be widened to 6 lanes, there is no provision for a lower deck for LRT, busses and trucks. Despite SW BC being a seaport area, trucks are funneled onto mostly narrow bridges. There has been a lack of interest to build bus bridges next to almost all of the bridges in Greater Vancouver. Yet, there is a Half-A$$ED attempt to have a better regional express bus network. This regional Rapid Bus attempt will always be a joke, unless a series of bus bridges are built. The Half-A$$ED approach is to try to have bus lanes on 4 to 6 lane bridges. Designating 2 bus lanes would reduce the narrow bridges to only 1 or 2 lanes each way for general traffic in what is suppose to be a major seaport and urban area.
Most of the worlds population is non-white and for a big part of the history of BC, there has been a refusal to build up bigtime infrastructure for everyone. While some Albertains might wish that there was a wall built around their province or a force-field like out of Star Trek, BC is almost pretending like there is. Thus, the keep things small and backwards mentality.
Several decades ago, BC implemented a symbolic slow-growth approach. Despite BC not having any control over immigration, or trying to establish an internal passport & checkpoint system, to KEEP PEOPLE OUT, it opted for the next best thing. Stunt or scale back the urban infrastructure to project a strong symbolic reluctance to growth and thinking big.
When you realize how much larger things are allowed to be in Alberta, Washington State and even Western Australia & compare them to watered down BC, you see quite a difference. Despite BC & Canada in general, being multicultural, BCs cities keep finding ways to water the scale of things down. Canada has yet to have even 1% of the world's population, despite its size.
While there are good arguments to occasionally slowdown immigration, that can eventually become problematic, just like too much immigration. Even in the 2020s, some people in the former White colonial parts of the world still wish that Canada & Australia, etc., could be a White Man's paradise. However, that seems so impractical on a planet that mostly has a non white population.
https://humanrights.ca/story/chinese-head-tax-and-chinese-exclusion-act
https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/chinese-head-tax-in-canada
https://royalalbertamuseum.ca/blog/chinese-head-tax-george-yees-story
https://www.musee-mccord-stewart.ca/en/blog/chinese-exclusion-act/
https://parks.canada.ca/culture/designation/evenement-event/exclusion-chinois-chinese
https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/campaigns/asian-heritage-month/important-events.html
https://stanleyparkvan.com/stanley-park-van-monument-komagata-maru.html
https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2022/10/05/vancouver-komagata-maru-memorial
https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2023/01/30/vancouver-komagata-maru-memorial-vandalism/
Even if Alberta were to eventually become its own country, it would be extremely unlikely that it could ever impose a White Man's Paradise Agenda. The same could be stated for backwards BC. However, something very peculiar has been happening in BC for several generations.
Several BC cities and municipalities play off each other with various slow-growth agendas. Vancouver being one of the most restrictive & backwards on the the planet. Somehow the legitimate anti freeway fears of the 1960s & 70s didn't get the city & region to still build a series of bus & HOV bridges. Plus, a long-term, high capacity urban rail system.
While Montreal planned for 152.4 m stations to accomodate 9 car trains, backwards Vancouver only built 80 m Skytrain stations for the first 2 lines. Then to top that, was a plan to build a line to Richmond with only enough level clearance for 50 m stations. The 1st line only started to run 5 car trains in 2025. Eventually, the 2nd line will also have 5 car trains. However, the line to the airport was deliberately designed not to have 5 car trains. Just a Half-A$$ED 2.5 car train, someday. WTH?
For Greater Vancouver to mostly have narrow bridges, one would think the all the stations could ultimately be at least as long as a Montreal Metro train station. Indeed, Greater Vancouver should have built for 10 car trains, but will only have 5 car trains on the 1st two lines & a 2.5 car joke of a train on the 3rd line. As of 2025, the 2nd & 3rd lines are still only running 2 car trains. Such a great way to symbolically show the resistance to eventually link YVR to both of the main BC ferry terminals.
The inadequate 3 lane Lion Bridge still has no bus & HOV tunnels near it. Urban parts of Australia never seemed to have a similar reluctance to build tunnels as does backwards Vancouver. Tunnels for Montreal & Seattle aren't a problem either. At least BC is slated to have a new and improved tunnel by 2030, that's only a couple of generations late.
Oh, if only people would stop moving to BC, especially Vancouver & Victoria. Well, that's not the case, its just that various BC cities want to only build urban infrastructure that is inadequate. Despite the frustrations that some people have in Alberta, at lest wider bridges, longer trains & taller buildings are allowed there. This watering things down in BC approach is symbolically indicative to refuse to properly build for a growing population.
Surrey should have already had at least 1 hospital the size of VGH. At least Surrey like Burnaby, can build up taller in what is still mostly a mountain wilderness province.
BC is a long way from New England & Southern Quebec. The restrictive urban planning measures in Greater Vancouver keep preventing it from becoming a proper big metropolitan area like Greater Boston and Montreal.
Calgary and Edmonton each should have hand an airport+line by now.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Line_(MBTA) Calgary will have its own version of a Green Line, eventually. https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Calgary+Green+Line
Canada https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wD5ejnj2miw
Why living in Canada has become Impossible https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJHm03osbHc
Why life in Australia has become Impossible https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2chYfJ4cRs
