Why living in Canada has become Impossible

There is a housing crisis, cost-of-living crisis, and now even an immigration crisis. What's happening to Canada?

FULL TRANSCRIPT + SOURCES:

FURTHER READING:

Good and Lucky: Explaining Canada’s Successful Immigration Policies (Oxford Academic):

Don Kerr: Canada’s population growth is exploding. Here’s why (the Hub):

Backlash against immigrants challenges Canada's welcoming image

#Canada

[beerasaurus]

Living in Canada is easy. Just buy your house 35 years ago.

[rsmybest]

I been speaking with people living outside of Canada, they are also amazed that we cant afford houses with all that land. We are not even 50 millions, there is no excuses. The corruption runs deep.

[igorpro]

I came to Canada as a skilled immigrant (a mechanical engineer) from the Ukraine, because they said they needed my skills. My wife had a university degree too. The Engineers' society of BC put so many hoops to jump through to prove my degree that it was easier to go to the university the second time and get a local degree. With two teenage kids in the household it was not possible and I started my Canadian career as a car wash person, and a year later migrated to carpentry (my former hobby). I'm in carpentry 22 years later and about to retire. So much about skills.

[chatisawasteoftime]

Government fixing things never fails to make them worse.

[mipquus]

Canadian dream is escaping Canada. Thank you, politicians

[gametime]

It's insane that a nation that is so sparsely populated has such insanely high housing prices. It makes no sense.

[Corndogg]

It’s like if your parents had two kids who were always hungry, and before the needs of their children are met, they start adopting orphans. As the children, would you not be like, WTF, get your house in order before you invite more people in. I’m not sure why this is hard for western governments to understand.

[Irene-keto]

Thank you for your information. As a citizen of the US, I'm woefully ignorant of Canadian history and politics. I can barely keep up with US politics and issues so it is interesting to get to see your video.

[jamesf]

I'm someone who was born in Canada, got higher education and was luckily very fortunate thanks to the hard work of my parents. I will never be able to afford a home in the city I've lived in my whole life. You do everything right, with every opportunity given to you, and it's still not enough in this country. I'm not entitled to anything, but the American/Canadian dream and path to get there does not work anymore.

[AletheAce]

6:30 there was never a shortage of workers. There was a shortage of workers willing to work sh**ty jobs with no benefits for minimum wage. So, the government saw immigrant, a pool of infinite, cheap, disposable, exploitable labour, as a solution. At the same time, the people advocating for this also benefitted from the housing crisis. The ever increasing demand for housing meant that the property value of the rich skyrocketed.

[lukedomanski]

How about this: instead of bringing new people into the country "with their talents, hopes and their dreams, " we nourish the talent that we already have in Canada? Young people living in Canada don't stand a chance anymore; leaving has become the only option.

[Pete-thoq]

With the added tariffs, building supplies have tripled in price (in some communities even higher). Building a new house or apartment at this time will cost greatly. Individual business persons are buying up old buildings and renovating them to make rooms/homes ready for those on arrival BUT the prices remain the same. CRAZY!

[tonysilke]

More and more people might face a tough time in retirement. Low-paying jobs, inflation, and high rents make it hard to save. Now, middle-class Canadians find it tough to own a home too, leaving them without a place to retire.

[TimouOfConstantine]

Guys I don't understand, they're crying worker shortage, but they don't have the ability to pay wages that can cover food.

[LastCallToChrist]

There wasn't any issues with worker shortage. We have a crisis of employers who want experienced workers to fill in 2-3 roles for a fraction of the cost and calls it Entry Level.

[hatimlaamri]

As a professional of Canadian Immigration, i 've found your analysis right and accurate. Thanks

[tuttut]

In my country, I have a solid education, earn a good income, and am well-established. In 2006, I received an offer to immigrate to Canada and attended a government seminar. The first thing I noticed was that they only accepted highly educated individuals. I asked about carpenters, plumbers, bricklayers, and painters, and the response was that these professionals didn’t qualify for immigration. That was the moment I decided against immigrating. How can a country expect to build houses without the essential professionals who drive society forward? The best decision I made was to stay. My friends who did go regretted it. They couldn’t buy a house, still live in rentals, and ended up in remote areas where I would only spend weekends in my own country.

Some countries are like a big amusement park—great to visit, but living there is a different story.

[Devaricate]

I have never seen such a unified comment section before. Must be a testament to the nation's shared frustration.

[kathy_k]

In Canada not only housing expensive, everything ridiculously expensive 😢

[timburrows]

After living in Canada for a few years the writing was on the wall, that was the 80s. I knew then we didnt have politicians capable of fixing a flat tyre. The U.S. has been my country since then I am happy to say. Today I am happy that our government is working so well to make Americans lives so good. Trudeau is proud of your diversity folks, isnt that nice.?