Why millennials and Gen Z may be fearing their future in Canada

Gen Y & Gen Z, people who are between 10 and 41, have spent what should have been some of their most thriving years in a pandemic. Many sacrificed their in-school experiences, struggled to find work, lost jobs, held off on big decisions and dealt with travel restrictions.

A new study by Leger explores how Canadian millennials and Gen Z are feeling about their financial future and otherwise after living through two years of the pandemic.

Sharmeen Somani reports.

#GlobalNews

[jamieking]

"The costs of living now outweigh the benefits of living."

[dimislayerthesomeone]

We don't fear the future, we fear the now. We already know we have no future.

[kenmunro]

Smart enough to know they will be held down as corporate slaves all their lives .

[findingfinance]

As a Canadian resident. I would not recommend anyone move here. It is no longer a land of opportunity like it was in the 80s and 90s.
The government and boomers are going to drive away a lot of young talent.
When a starter entry home is 1 million dollars, not the best place to live for young people.

[josh]

middle class is fading. With that comes two. Extreme rich and extreme poor. Housing will crash in 2 years making that divide even a quicker reality. Everything is going up but people’s pay… it’s happening … it’s not a situation where you say it’s going to happen.

[emmamurphy]

I’m a financially independent university student who is (currently) living debt free. It’s killing me.

I work 2 part time jobs while taking a full time course load in biology and environmental science. I love what I study, but the things I have to do just to afford school are unsustainable at best. I work 20 hours a week during the day at one job, and 40 hours a week on overnights at my other job. In order to survive I have to sell my sleep. There’s simply not enough hours in the day to work minimum wage and sustain yourself. I’m so scared of the future, I can’t keep doing this!

[ToudaHell]

I currently work full-time in an office. I'm being paid relatively well considering my position, how long I've been with the company and my experience level. Despite that, I cannot afford rent and be financially stable; aka, be able to save sufficiently for emergencies. Even now, I cannot afford to buy a house with my, compared to my peers, substantial nest egg. That's the reality we're facing. I don't see how I can move out without a substantial raise. And I am doing far better financially than 90% of my friends. Even when we do have money, we can't afford anything.

[Aaron-fbpq]

Thanks for covering this Global, as a millennial in the workforce for 10 years, not an addict, not an alcoholic, tax paying citizen, I will most likely never start a family or own a home. The older generations write us off as complainers and ungrateful but they didn’t build their lives in this type of financial situation.

[DefianceOrDishonor]

A big complaint for younger people is real estate and housing options. What are the Governments plans to increase housing? I don't see any. However I see lots of plans to bring more people into our country while we're in a national housing crisis? This isn't about hatred or any of that, it's just basic math. It's literally two plus two equals four.

[eternalsunshine]

As someone actively looking to leave Canada, here are my reasons:
1 - Excess Inflation & lack of government attention to address it.
2 - Weakened Currency & anticipated loss of retirement savings due to dollar collapse.
3 - Oppressive government influence of daily life, with no plan to ease back to normal.

[streamingnowstreamingnow]

“The budget will balance itself”
because
“I don’t think about Monetary Policy”

[technicolour]

As a younger person I've been told all my life that I should go to school so I can get a good job so I can buy a house etc etc, but all that I have seen is my peers struggling just to get by after doing so. What the gentleman at the end of this said video hit home for me. The world has taught me that in this system hard work does not pay off, it's about getting lucky. An example is that I don't think I'll ever own a home because I simply can't compete with hedge funds dropping cash offers 200k above asking price for homes in my area so that another basic human need can be exploited for profit. There are countless others. Feels hopeless.

[hnxandar]

I lost my small business (an indoor playground), my mortgage and all my savings during this pandemic. I now drive Uber and try my best to bring food to my 4 kids. This is the most difficult time in my life, what is happening to this country?

[charliehigglons]

I'm gen Z; here's why people like me have an uncertain future:

• Housing is too expensive.
• Compensation and productivity is not equal.
• Wokeness in the workplace means I'm chosen last for my gender and skin colour
• Nobody is hiring in spite of "le worker shortage"
• Owning and operating a vehicle is too expensive. Gas prices are insane
• The price of groceries is too expensive.
• Mass immigration kills social cohesion
• Unvaccinated people are second class citizens in Trudeau's Canada
• Related to the last point, the charter of rights and freedoms is irrelevant to the government. Canada isn't a good place to live when the charter can be sidestepped so easily
• The Canadian dollar has zero intrinsic value and is becoming progressively more worthless, saving money is pointless because you lose a large sum of it every year due to inflation. Banks won't compensate losses due to inflation.

There are a lot more but these are the most obvious ones

[musicjeffyoung]

Perhaps our government should stop printing money and driving inflation.
But, don't worry everyone. The rich who have bought up these homes, properties and businesses will be happy to rent them to you. I'm sure the rates will be affordable.

[whor-u]

a very average 3 bedroom BC Box home is around a million dollars where I live (1hr from Vancouver) - That's almost criminal in my opinion. These are family homes, yet they are being treated as a commodity. This is a big failure in society. Every family should be able to have a home at an affordable price, in line with average inflation.

[klaplante]

Klause Schwab owns Trudeau, half of parliament and the media. He said so himself.

[The_Rude_French_Canadian]

Ironically I’m scared of having the wrong opinion in Canada since last week…so I’m not surprised people want to leave…I’m also surprised the comment section hasn’t been turned off on global news…

[journeywithin]

Let’s not forget, this isn’t a pandemic issue. It’s a government issue. This is all on the Liberals.

[IndustrialMilitia]

Once I finish my education, I will move away from Canada. This is not a country in which to invest a future.