Part 8/10:
Canada’s economic woes have been mounting for the past decade. Despite being wealthier than the U.S. in 2010, Canada is now approximately 40% poorer—costs and home prices are soaring, while wages have stagnated. The country has seen a record loss of 41,000 jobs last month alone (equating to nearly 400,000 in U.S. terms), and youth unemployment hit a 15-year high at nearly 15%.
Wages have been flat since 2016, and taxes consume about half of Canadians’ earnings. A startling 40% of the middle class now live paycheck to paycheck, heavily burdened by personal debt—a ratio two and a half times higher than in the U.S. The inequality and economic insecurity threaten long-term stability.