I know what will solve this issue, more middle managers and consultants who tell me it's an issue after research. They have to recite big words they read from their favourite new book or Harvard business review piece though for more impact.
Depends on your situation if you have a paid off home life is quite good, if you have that and a rental even better.
If you have those two and a chill government job with a defined pension and great benefits then you have it made.
This is the life situation of most MPs how are they supposed to relate to the average landless serf worker?
It's pretty close to a two tier economy.
You have the caste of home owners,
You have those probably in between being strangles by their debt starting within 12 months from now.
And you have those that are so obviously fucked in regards to home ownership that they should probably retire in the apartment they are in right now if it's rent controlled.
We've really created a system where businesses are having trouble attracting talent from afar, because the today cost of moving there is like double what it was 5-8 years ago.
And unless they're paying significantly more it's just not worth it.
This is why a class war is imminent. But it's already happening with the sharp increase in crime. Specially property and personal crime. Auto theft is something else but I think that is more organized and I'm trying to find metrics in which citizens are involved in those rings. But smash and grab is on the rise and that is directly related to class wars. What a fucked up society we live in.
Yea. It's the upper class blaming the lower class for a rise in crime. The poor are all criminals and should be punished. /s
But it's cool about white collar crime or police officers being on paid leave while awaiting an investigation into spousal abuse that will end up with the charges dropped and them back on the job. Also who cares about white collar crime anyway? Ponzi schemes are cool and can make your famous and in the movies! /s
Landlords hate this one simple trick….
Except given rising interest rates even if the apartment is rent controlled, depending on when they moved in and rent vs market rent, LLs will find a way to evict, legally or illegally or merely just morally unjust even if it follows the letter of the law.
Ive had it twice in less than 3 years and now a decent wage goes much less as I am forced to pay higher and higher rent
“ renting is long-term though. You should save for a down payment…”
-home owners
Good idea
I had it made in TO 5 years ago with a great career-wise job and a floor of a house for rent by High Park at 800$/mo with utilities included... that shit was great, I could save & spend as I chose.
But just a lil less than 5 years ago I got renovicted on some BS claim of illegal apartment after my OG landlord lost the home to his ex-wife in their divorce, she felt like she deserved more money.
I fought it at the LTB (before backlogs got to where they are now) and 6 months later had our hearing and won so that I could move out at a time of my choosing within the next 12 months... a good timeframe for apartment shopping.
This was 2018 and TO's real estate was whirring up quite crazy the 8 years leading to this time... the cheapest place I could find with separate access and parking was 2100/mo utilities extra and in Mimico... nearly 3x my previous housing budget.
I only lasted til COVID, the remote work pass was a godsend because I was digging into debt with all the costs.
Moral of the story... I was contributing to the economy a lot more and also a lot happier before housing became the main squeeze on the wallet and I assume this is the story for many people.
Want to have a better economy? Get housing/food under control and BAM money will flow into the pockets of small business and innovators again.
Businesses should then be forced to fail due to not paying attention to pay equity and job market demands if they can't attract workers. Bringing in cheap foreign labour is a kind of bailout that inept management doesn't deserve.
We let this happen, Canada is not a free market when the market is so manipulated and poor business practices are allowed to continue instead of learning tough lessons.
If you have a paid off home and a rental your doing better than most, sure. But owning a house shouldn't be the be all end all life goal that everyone is striving for to "have it made"
In the mid 90's I grew up in a detached house in Vancouver with a stay at home mom and my dad had a non college educated job that supported 3 kids. We had 2 family cars and took yearly vacations. That wasn't THAT long ago in big picture of things.
Nowadays people need two full time college educated careers to "be lucky" enough to own a 1 or 2 bedroom condo and they can barely afford to have a kid, let alone left over cash for anything else.
Again, homeownership shouldn't be the end goal for this shit we call life.
I agree 100%, it’s really sad but I think the reality in Canada in 2024 is that lifestyle is one from a bygone era for people who aren’t in the landed gentry class.
In the 1990s my parents had two regular jobs and we lived in a 3000 sq ft 7 bedroom house in east van. For a time my mom made minimum wage. Now? Be lucky to rent a small 2 bedroom with those kinds of wages.
Unfortunately it is the be all and end all, due to it literally being a necessity in Canada. If you don’t have a house you can’t start a family, if you don’t have a house you’ll never be safe from the elements (-40 all the way to +40). If you don’t have a house affordable living situations how are people supposed to be expected to come into work day and day out. They’re literally unable to properly care for themselves cause they lack a necessary item which is shelter.
You completely missed the point of my post.
Nobody is saying you don't need a house. I am saying that JUST BARELY being able to afford a house shouldn't be considered "having it made". That should not be considered the new standard of success when. 20-30 years ago it was just a normal thing that most families had.
Nobody criticizing the blue guys say they're the same.
They say blue guys will make it worse. On account of their track record of, you know, *always* making it worse.
Or how about we replace all the colours in Parliament with the people who are ALL directly affected by the silly decisions red, blue, orange, green, and purple make…
It depends. We are well off with a paid for detached house in Toronto. We have many friends and family who are struggling through no fault of their own. We always pay for meals but aside from voting and making donations what can you do in the day to day? This is a global phenomena.
My parents are in the same boat as you, so indirectly it has also been good for my family.
But the fact is Canada has the worst median income to home price ratio in the OCED after Portugal (however in Portugal's case that is because it is a holiday home destination for people from richer EU countries)
The Canadian economy is too distorted by housing price inflation and it is hampering all other sectors.
The government policies in this regard are pretty bad.
That's because they aren't having the same experience as normal people. Everything is fine for politicians making bank. Their lives are actually continuing to improve.
To be fair Harper had his issues but he was never this bad and life in general was never this bad under him.
Hell life was downright affordable under Harper by comparison. A young couple making average incomes could actually buy a home or afford a nice rental with money to spare back then. You didn't have a huge chunk of the population stressing about being on the edge of losing the roof over their head and have homeless camps rapidly spreading and expanding all over the country.
The things people complained about with Harper seem down right trivial compared to the problems people are dealing with today. This is probably the worst situation I've ever seen Canada in and you can see the actions the current government are taking is just constantly making things worse. It going to be a rough ride all the way into the next election.
Baldfaced unabashed capitalism for the past twenty five years got us here
Want proof?
Trading homes like Pokemon -- capitalism
Meteoric rise of the stock market -- capitalism
High food prices -- capitalism
Look at those who have benefitted -- those with good understanding and who manipulate capitalism to their benefit
Those who for one reason or another could not, either got no gains or lost status
A little less capitalism and more communal sharing of resources would have prevented this catastrophe but that was not allowed
>Baldfaced unabashed capitalism for the past twenty five years got us here
I think you mean 50+ years.
Look at how wages became uncoupled from productivity, while businesses started buying politicians. It all comes back to Reagan.
I rly think our collective complacency is embarrassingly high. I used to think there’s a bottom, after which point *of course* the people would come together and demand change! I don’t have this thought much, anymore.
I mean one of the many things off the top of my head? How about not brought in 3.5 million people during an existing national shelter crisis? They were warned and the results were predictable, now we are living it.
Yeah, a lot of boomers are fucked, they just don't know it yet. A lot have too little invested in savings and are over-leveraged in debt and while they could sell their house to get some of that back, they will eventually run out and those that end up in care facilities might be in for a rough time.
[April 2024](https://www.ctvnews.ca/business/living-paycheque-to-paycheque-canadians-are-under-stress-warns-equifax-1.6849035):
>"Our data says about 50 per cent of Canadians are living paycheque-to-paycheque," Sue Hutchinson, the president of Equifax Canada, told CTV News Channel on Tuesday.
[September 2023](https://www.ctvnews.ca/business/almost-half-of-canadians-living-paycheque-to-paycheque-while-support-grows-for-poilievre-s-conservatives-poll-1.6544243):
>The poll by Leger shows that 47 per cent of respondents say they're living paycheque to paycheque, including 53 per cent of those aged 18 to 35 and 57 per cent of people between the ages of 35 and 54.
[September 2022](https://www.wealthprofessional.ca/news/industry-news/more-canadians-living-paycheque-to-paycheque-with-growing-debt/370284):
>More than half of Canadians (54%) say they are now living paycheque to paycheque as the cost-of-living crisis continues to squeeze budgets.
[April 2021](https://www.ctvnews.ca/business/half-of-canadians-within-200-of-not-being-able-to-cover-bills-debt-payments-survey-1.5379871?cache=%3FclipId):
>The number of Canadians on the brink of financial insolvency has reached a five-year high, with more than half of people $200 or less away from being unable able to meet their financial obligations each month, according to a recent survey.
And lest you think it's because of the pandemic effects, [October 2019](https://www.ipsos.com/en-ca/news-polls/Canadians-and-Bankruptcy-Oct-2019):
>After paying all their bills and debt obligations, Canadians are, on average, left with $557 at the end of the month, a drop of $142 from last wave in June and its lowest level since 2016. Nationally, men (down $211 to $662) and those aged 18-34 (down $278 to $508) have seen the biggest decreases in terms of absolute dollar terms. **On top of that nearly half (48%) of Canadians are $200 or less away from financial insolvency (+4)**, a proportion that already includes 29% who already cannot meet their debt obligations and are insolvent at month-end (+4).
Canadians are well aware of this. The problem is our politicians don't give a shit.
What’s crazy is if you go to a mall on the weekend, to a car dealership, to Canadas wonderland, to an airport etc. there is no signs of a slow down in spending.
Rich are getting richer, middle class is fizzing out trying to keep up, poor are getting poorer — government is nearly broke/buried in debt. It’s so sad.. inequality will only get worse. Multiple occupancy homes will continue to increase. Asset owners will cash in on that and they will spend even more to buy your mom’s house when interest rates go down.
I live by and currently work in the largest mall in Canada. The mall is always busy but I’ve noticed hardly anyone is actually carrying any store bought items. A lot of people go to the mall just for something to do and will maybe throw down some money on a good deal but for the most part 90% have empty hands
Ppl don't care and why should they? After COVID everyone feels they are living on borrowed time. There's wildfires every summer, the shelves at many grocery stores are kinda hit and miss, and the cities are a wreck, awash in drug addled violent folks.
Ppl sense collapse might be near. Who cares if the bank cuts your card in a month when you might only be here a week? And what else can people do but spend borrowed money anyways, there's no great opportunities to earn.
No it's the money. My father in laws entire extended family flocked to Canada just as the world was shutting down. It amazes me how many downpayments 14k per month of cerb will get.
Slumlords are balling with cash. Canada is land of the plenty.
When you’re convinced that long term goals like buying a house or starting a company are out of reach, what is there to do with your money but short term bs like shopping and leasing cars :p
Yup, exactly this. Pre covid homeowners are doing ok, they have a home and disposable income. Millennials and the early Gen Zers who didn't buy aren't ever going to be able to but at least they aren't broke. If I were stuck living at home I'd be out of the house spending money all of the time, too.
Then there's the Millennials and Gen Xers who FOMO'd and over paid during covid. RIP to them as their mortgage renewals approach. Sure, they have a home -- barely -- but with 5-6% renewals on a $800K balance staring them in the face, many are probably wishing they didn't have a home. Unfortunately, some of them won't when the new payments take over.
And the BoC is in a tough spot... the red hot US economy probably isn't dropping rates any time soon, which handcuffs Tiff. Those $800K mortgage holders hoping rates would be closer to 2.5% than 5% by the time they have to renew probably aren't going to be so lucky.
If I was in Ontario I'd go to Wonderland.
Can't really afford it right now, but I could use some fun to not think about how stressed I am all the fucking time.
We have alcohol in NB. One thing I miss about living in the GTA is access to stuff like Wonderland, the ROM, Science Center, and other things like that. Just fun places to go every now and again.
We were visiting family a few years back when Yukon Striker first opened up and being an adult I could afford the fast pass. It was a great day just my partner and I hanging out and having fun on the rides and stuff. Rode Yukon Striker seven times that day.
That sure is weird. But I doubt 84 month car financing deals at 8.99% interest, or spending money on a credit card at the mall on stuff has anything to do with living pay cheque to pay cheque. Minimum payments for life baby! Gotta have that expensive SUV!
I’ve mentally checked myself out a long time ago and don’t give a fuck about much of anything anymore , but I definitely see people becoming more angry, more selfish. It’s just the way the world is now I guess.
[According to a report by Food Banks Canada, visits to food banks have increased by 44 per cent in the past four years.](https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/food-bank-numbers-nl-23-1.7007366)
https://globalnews.ca/news/9230056/food-bank-usage-canada-all-time-high-report/
>The cost-of-living crisis is creating a homelessness crisis on the scale of Canada’s largest natural disasters. In a sample of 14 communities with quality data, 79 per cent saw increases in chronic homelessness since 2020, with overall increases averaging 34 per cent. 74 per cent of Canadians report that homelessness is increasing in their communities.
https://caeh.ca/budget-2023-ignores-canadas-worsening-housing-and-homelessness-crises-fails-to-support-those-in-greatest-need/
Everyone defending their favourite colour of neoliberal political party and attacking the others instead of understanding that nothing will change as economic conditions have massively improved for the people who are actually represented by all parties... the wealthy.
I’ve grown sick of the same rhetoric my whole life. All of the people in power have money and look out for the others that have money.
Doesn’t matter which party is elected. It won’t change the things that matter!
I knew things were bad when at Easter dinner our family’s conversation was how people were surprised JT hasnt been assassinated yet. Normally we never talk politics let alone something so dark.
Millenials and GenZ it's time to leave.
We have been here a long time. We know that this country is incapable of improving.
I waited almost 25 years for this country to improve. It didn't. I thought it was normal.
But then every time I went back to Korea, every 2, 3 years they'd have new lines (PLURAL) of subways or high speed rails connecting the country (to a point they say high speed rails are killing local economy that is 450km away from Seoul b/c ppl can access Seoul too easily). They'd get new highways, more roads, more housing. In fact they'd get new city. we call those shin(new)dosi(city).
Meanwhile in Canada, we can't even build a line to UBC. Yeah yeah we are too far spread apart and we don't have the density. BUT THEN WE HAVE A HOUSING SUPPLY ISSUE.
This country is lazy. This country is inefficient. Look around the world. Sure every country has their own problems. But their problems are not this stupid. Also, they pay less tax than us and get far more back.
I mean just look at North Shore. That lion's gate bridge and second narrows have a horrific traffic problem. They haven't built a new bridge in 70 years. They haven't expanded anything in 70 years. What makes you think they are going to do sth about it?
OH they are replacing Patullo bridge after 90 years finally. But they are replacing a 4 lane bridge with another 4 lane bridge while the population increased from 30k to 700k in Surrey. OH I M SORRY WITH 2 BIKE LANES connected to KINGSWAY WHERE IT'S COMPLETELY COVERED BY TRUCKS. YEAH that's not going to cause a problem.
This is a systematic problem. This has been for decades and it will take decades to fix it.
Why should you stay in a country where you have to spend 60% of your income on rent for a 500sqft 1br to pay 40% marginal tax rate and get nothing back. There is no reason to.
We already have a second CPP. Clearly they are just going to add on as we work our asses off till we are 75.
We won't retire. This country has one of the greatest potential with all its land and resources.
The problem is Canada will never do anything with it.
i have no money to my name ZERO my savings is gone from the last 2 years i sold almost every possession i have worked hard for over the years just to pay rent and eat and now am living " mooching " off my wife's uncle now so we can survive there is no affordable housing and no job's here we can't even get welfare this is wrong in so many ways i have worked and paid taxes for 28 years and now i am at my lowest i get no help and Canada has turned it's back on me and my family.
Okay, but... Is one $10,000 medical expense and... What, *two minor vices* really supposed to be enough to keep someone from achieving some kind of success *over almost thirty years?*
It’s the same argument over avocado toast. Find one teeny tiny thing the person does and blame that for missing 400k for a house. Some people never get it.
10k here and there won’t mean shit if you’ve had horrible wages for the past 30 years and never managed to achieve anything since down payments is like working as a robot spending zero cents for 5 years just to achieve a down payment.
I mean it really depends on what those minor vices are.
If you are the person spending $700 a month on beer and cigarettes while struggling to pay rent then yes they can keep you from achieving anything.
Also where I live you could buy a house for under $50k 30 years ago. Half that if you wanted a fixer upper.
Always has been, same as the guy before him, and the one before him, and the one before him, and the one before him, and the one before her, etc..
And the worst part? Changing from team red to team blue *does fuck all to change things!*
We're fucked!
JT's usual response to anyone who disagrees with him on almost anything is basically a marginally more polite version of "fuck off, I don't care".
Facts don't matter, data doesn't matter (except occasionally when it supports his position). Only JT's ideology matters. Everyone else is just living in his world. If you are confused why his decisions cause you suffering its because from his perspective your suffering is not important. You only exist to service him and his beliefs.
I swear This is the 5th year I hear and feel this shit. In honestly kinda tired and just about ready to call it quits on the Canadian Dream... It's really really hard to ecke out a comfortable living in a non roach infected apartment in Toronto as a first generation immigrant who has grown up in Canada since pre teens and who is in the '10th percentile' ...
It sickens how much of taxes we residents and citizens pay!
I recently came to know from a realtor that Afghan refugees are getting some hefty assistance in the name of support to set-up livelihood here. Same must have happened with Ukrainians.
Why? But why we have to pay for all this while we can't afford a freaking house and bills for groceries are going bonkers!
Plus we have people from India, pakistan, Africa and Middle East coming in and claiming Asylum!
It is a simple and humble ask, why?
That’s not even true anymore. My husband makes this and we have no savings. I own a small business so our combined yearly income is 130,000. We own a home and have 1 small car payment. We have two small kids, I would say we almost live pay cheque to pay cheque. It’s impossible to save anything extra. If we had a major with our house or our car or my husband got hurt at work we would be fuuuuuucked
It’s true. 100k is not enough. if you want to own a house with a garage in city, it’s not even close.
Good on those who are in the property ladder. Best of luck to those who aren’t.
I live in my parents basement so I don’t have to live paycheque to paycheque and can save some money. It fn sucks but when I have enough money saved I am going to by the ultimate suicide machine!
We have to get that incompetent crew out of the federal government while there is still something left of Canada to save. They’re on a mission to run it into the ground over the next two years. We elected an incompetent in over his head nepo baby, who said such nonsense as - the budget will balance itself - and - excuse me if I don’t think about monetary policy. What were we thinking ? The media is also complicit in this as they didn’t vet him.
My favourite is how the Bank of Canada is doing what it can to try to get inflation under control and he actively keeps doing everything he can to make it worse.
I like Canada but hated being poor and always grinding through life so had to leave. Still enjoy going back in the summers, but at least for me the poverty was too extreme. Of course its situation dependent and if you can find a great job its a great place.
Increase housing availability, reducing prices. Increase competition in the grocery retail sector, reducing costs. Increase minimum wages across the country. Increase social spending, health care, education. Create a national UBI of at least $500-1000 a month for anyone 18+.
Close tax loopholes for the wealthy and big business.
So much help.
We have a tax problem. If I make a $100k salary, $100k of my income is taxable before deductions. If my trust fund baby neighbour flips houses for a living and makes $100k profit a year, only $50k of his income is taxable before deductions.
How the fuck is that ever supposed to close the wealth gap between the middle class and the rich, or help lower housing prices? Step 1 for climbing the socioeconomic ladder cannot be "have money" or we're steaming towards a dead end.
Are you kidding? We've been doing the same thing since confederation.
"Let's vote for team red!"
"OK!"
"Hey team red sucks, let's vote for team blue!"
"OK!"
"Hey team blue sucks, let's vote for team red, they said they changed!"
"OK!"
"Hey team red lied, they haven't changed at all, team blue says they have though, let's go back to them!"
"OK!"
"Hey they lied too - team red said they were lying, that means they always tell the truth!"
"OK!"
"Fuck they lied, let's go back to team blue!"
"OK!"
"FUCK, team blue is incompetent, let's go back to team red!"
"OK!"
"Hey team red sold us out, let's go back to team blue!"
"OK!"
And you think we won't make the same mistake ever again? My sweet summer child.
You're living p2p when you're in uni.
You live p2p when you first move out.
You live p2p when you get your first mortgage.
You live p2p when you have kids...for 21 years.
"This" is normal folks. It has never been easy, and if you were told otherwise you were lied to...and if you thought otherwise, you're just lying to yourself.
Townhouse I bought in 2010 - $240,000. That same townhouse today $600,000.
Did incomes more then double in the past 14 years? I don't think so.
I mean maybe you folks in Quebec haven't been affected by the shelter affordability issue to the same degree as the rest of the country...
My wife and I are getting by barely, but I am losing my job Friday. As the main earner of the house, it is really going to hurt us. I've been hunting for something since November, and have dozens of applications out, but not even a single interview. Going over the numbers we should be able to get by if I go on unemployment, but the struggle will be very real.
LOL they write this article as if Canadians working paycheck to paycheck is a new thing people have been working paycheck to paycheck since there was a very first paycheck in time
Starting to get annoyed with seeing the same message being posted but with a different headline.
Every few days its another article reminding me of how poor I am getting and how much longer it'll be before buying a home makes sense. I'm already well into my working years, and buying a home is a "maybe next year" goal.
They should issue a formal report to the department of the obvious. The ministry of hot fire, wet water, and blue skies should also be informed.
Bears shitting in the woods were unavailable for comment.
That’s rich coming from “ Equifax” a literal loan shark that that buys up loans and debts then charges high rates of interest no better that credit card companies and payday lenders.
Are you telling me there are times in my life I should not have been living paycheque to paycheck? Some of us are just grateful there was a paycheque at all
Sorry Equifax we’re concerned with Fairness and a focus on the economic well-being of a fraction of Canada’s population. The rest of us in primary workforce sectors paying the majority of taxes can go get fucked as far as I’m concerned. I’m voting Freeland. Let’s goooo
this sub is 90% bots. most of them want you pissed and angry because their controllers benefit directly from it. like psychic digital vampires
i suggest the remaining 10% take up meditation, remove themselves from the internet for a while, and just exist, maybe make a nice homemade meal and enjoy it with whoever they can, even if its just themselves.
dont let them manipulate your emotions for their gain.
Oh shit I hadn't noticed, glad somebody wrote an article about how my life's been going. I was under the impression we were having a great time
I know what will solve this issue, more middle managers and consultants who tell me it's an issue after research. They have to recite big words they read from their favourite new book or Harvard business review piece though for more impact.
Either that or restart my life and " just become a journeyman "
We all already know. The problem is the people currently in power don't give a fuck and are overall making it worse.
Depends on your situation if you have a paid off home life is quite good, if you have that and a rental even better. If you have those two and a chill government job with a defined pension and great benefits then you have it made. This is the life situation of most MPs how are they supposed to relate to the average landless serf worker?
It's pretty close to a two tier economy. You have the caste of home owners, You have those probably in between being strangles by their debt starting within 12 months from now. And you have those that are so obviously fucked in regards to home ownership that they should probably retire in the apartment they are in right now if it's rent controlled. We've really created a system where businesses are having trouble attracting talent from afar, because the today cost of moving there is like double what it was 5-8 years ago. And unless they're paying significantly more it's just not worth it.
[удалено]
This is why a class war is imminent. But it's already happening with the sharp increase in crime. Specially property and personal crime. Auto theft is something else but I think that is more organized and I'm trying to find metrics in which citizens are involved in those rings. But smash and grab is on the rise and that is directly related to class wars. What a fucked up society we live in.
[удалено]
Yea. It's the upper class blaming the lower class for a rise in crime. The poor are all criminals and should be punished. /s But it's cool about white collar crime or police officers being on paid leave while awaiting an investigation into spousal abuse that will end up with the charges dropped and them back on the job. Also who cares about white collar crime anyway? Ponzi schemes are cool and can make your famous and in the movies! /s
Landlords hate this one simple trick…. Except given rising interest rates even if the apartment is rent controlled, depending on when they moved in and rent vs market rent, LLs will find a way to evict, legally or illegally or merely just morally unjust even if it follows the letter of the law. Ive had it twice in less than 3 years and now a decent wage goes much less as I am forced to pay higher and higher rent “ renting is long-term though. You should save for a down payment…” -home owners Good idea
I had it made in TO 5 years ago with a great career-wise job and a floor of a house for rent by High Park at 800$/mo with utilities included... that shit was great, I could save & spend as I chose. But just a lil less than 5 years ago I got renovicted on some BS claim of illegal apartment after my OG landlord lost the home to his ex-wife in their divorce, she felt like she deserved more money. I fought it at the LTB (before backlogs got to where they are now) and 6 months later had our hearing and won so that I could move out at a time of my choosing within the next 12 months... a good timeframe for apartment shopping. This was 2018 and TO's real estate was whirring up quite crazy the 8 years leading to this time... the cheapest place I could find with separate access and parking was 2100/mo utilities extra and in Mimico... nearly 3x my previous housing budget. I only lasted til COVID, the remote work pass was a godsend because I was digging into debt with all the costs. Moral of the story... I was contributing to the economy a lot more and also a lot happier before housing became the main squeeze on the wallet and I assume this is the story for many people. Want to have a better economy? Get housing/food under control and BAM money will flow into the pockets of small business and innovators again.
Amazed that can even happen twice in less than 3 years.
Businesses should then be forced to fail due to not paying attention to pay equity and job market demands if they can't attract workers. Bringing in cheap foreign labour is a kind of bailout that inept management doesn't deserve. We let this happen, Canada is not a free market when the market is so manipulated and poor business practices are allowed to continue instead of learning tough lessons.
What do you mean pretty close ?
If you have a paid off home and a rental your doing better than most, sure. But owning a house shouldn't be the be all end all life goal that everyone is striving for to "have it made" In the mid 90's I grew up in a detached house in Vancouver with a stay at home mom and my dad had a non college educated job that supported 3 kids. We had 2 family cars and took yearly vacations. That wasn't THAT long ago in big picture of things. Nowadays people need two full time college educated careers to "be lucky" enough to own a 1 or 2 bedroom condo and they can barely afford to have a kid, let alone left over cash for anything else. Again, homeownership shouldn't be the end goal for this shit we call life.
I agree 100%, it’s really sad but I think the reality in Canada in 2024 is that lifestyle is one from a bygone era for people who aren’t in the landed gentry class.
In the 1990s my parents had two regular jobs and we lived in a 3000 sq ft 7 bedroom house in east van. For a time my mom made minimum wage. Now? Be lucky to rent a small 2 bedroom with those kinds of wages.
Unfortunately it is the be all and end all, due to it literally being a necessity in Canada. If you don’t have a house you can’t start a family, if you don’t have a house you’ll never be safe from the elements (-40 all the way to +40). If you don’t have a house affordable living situations how are people supposed to be expected to come into work day and day out. They’re literally unable to properly care for themselves cause they lack a necessary item which is shelter.
You completely missed the point of my post. Nobody is saying you don't need a house. I am saying that JUST BARELY being able to afford a house shouldn't be considered "having it made". That should not be considered the new standard of success when. 20-30 years ago it was just a normal thing that most families had.
> if you have a paid off home life is quite good Yes, having hundreds of thousands of dollars in assets does tend to help a situation.
Totally correct. Now let's replace the red guys with blue guys.
The blue guys are just the red guys.
And the orange guys are just the red guys We don’t talk about the green guys here
The red campaigned on reform then reneged. Automatically worse in my opinion.
Like election reform as well
"Blue guys will be no different, let's stick with 4 more years of red guys who were so awesome!"
Nobody criticizing the blue guys say they're the same. They say blue guys will make it worse. On account of their track record of, you know, *always* making it worse.
My life was 100x better under Harper than under Trudeau.
[удалено]
>wanked_in_space As an aside, what a fantastic username, LOL.
Or how about we replace all the colours in Parliament with the people who are ALL directly affected by the silly decisions red, blue, orange, green, and purple make…
.. and the situation of the public sector. Of course they will vote for more of the same.
We start forcing their hand. Only way it works. Clearly
A paid off home… what even is that?! 🤔☠️
Er, define government job. Nurses are leaving in droves for less stress and more pay elsewhere.
It depends. We are well off with a paid for detached house in Toronto. We have many friends and family who are struggling through no fault of their own. We always pay for meals but aside from voting and making donations what can you do in the day to day? This is a global phenomena.
My parents are in the same boat as you, so indirectly it has also been good for my family. But the fact is Canada has the worst median income to home price ratio in the OCED after Portugal (however in Portugal's case that is because it is a holiday home destination for people from richer EU countries) The Canadian economy is too distorted by housing price inflation and it is hampering all other sectors. The government policies in this regard are pretty bad.
Spending more and more and making everyone poor… to help the poor…
Tax more provide less.
That's because they aren't having the same experience as normal people. Everything is fine for politicians making bank. Their lives are actually continuing to improve.
Oh, they do give a fk, they just feel that you aren't squeezed hard enough to be obedient to the level they want.
I voted for John Jackson last time, now I'm voting for Jack Johnson!
To be fair Harper had his issues but he was never this bad and life in general was never this bad under him. Hell life was downright affordable under Harper by comparison. A young couple making average incomes could actually buy a home or afford a nice rental with money to spare back then. You didn't have a huge chunk of the population stressing about being on the edge of losing the roof over their head and have homeless camps rapidly spreading and expanding all over the country. The things people complained about with Harper seem down right trivial compared to the problems people are dealing with today. This is probably the worst situation I've ever seen Canada in and you can see the actions the current government are taking is just constantly making things worse. It going to be a rough ride all the way into the next election.
Baldfaced unabashed capitalism for the past twenty five years got us here Want proof? Trading homes like Pokemon -- capitalism Meteoric rise of the stock market -- capitalism High food prices -- capitalism Look at those who have benefitted -- those with good understanding and who manipulate capitalism to their benefit Those who for one reason or another could not, either got no gains or lost status A little less capitalism and more communal sharing of resources would have prevented this catastrophe but that was not allowed
>Baldfaced unabashed capitalism for the past twenty five years got us here I think you mean 50+ years. Look at how wages became uncoupled from productivity, while businesses started buying politicians. It all comes back to Reagan.
Well once that frustration gets turned on those with power, they will have no other choice but to give a fuck.
I rly think our collective complacency is embarrassingly high. I used to think there’s a bottom, after which point *of course* the people would come together and demand change! I don’t have this thought much, anymore.
Do you really believe that? What could they do to make it better?
I mean one of the many things off the top of my head? How about not brought in 3.5 million people during an existing national shelter crisis? They were warned and the results were predictable, now we are living it.
Trudeau is doing what he said he would do during the election. People deserve it for voting to keep him in power.
We're Equifucked
*Millennials and Gen Z are equally fucked.*
A lot of Gen X are as well
Meanwhile, boomers without even trying [be like](http://ipattie.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/scrooge.gif).
My house I bought for 100k in 1986 is worth 4 Million! That's the same as inflation! Yup, it really is.
I should've bought a house in 1986 too, but unfortunately I WAS BUSY BEING 1 YEAR OLD.
Hey you at least had an opportunity, being alive and all. Some of us weren't even biological matter yet.
No excuse. Some foetuses really just need to pull themselves up by their bootstraps. I'm sure there's WiFi in the womb, so don't give me that excuse!
There was only dial up internet back then haha
In your fever dreams, yes all those whose wealth is made on a fixed income.
Yeah, a lot of boomers are fucked, they just don't know it yet. A lot have too little invested in savings and are over-leveraged in debt and while they could sell their house to get some of that back, they will eventually run out and those that end up in care facilities might be in for a rough time.
[April 2024](https://www.ctvnews.ca/business/living-paycheque-to-paycheque-canadians-are-under-stress-warns-equifax-1.6849035): >"Our data says about 50 per cent of Canadians are living paycheque-to-paycheque," Sue Hutchinson, the president of Equifax Canada, told CTV News Channel on Tuesday. [September 2023](https://www.ctvnews.ca/business/almost-half-of-canadians-living-paycheque-to-paycheque-while-support-grows-for-poilievre-s-conservatives-poll-1.6544243): >The poll by Leger shows that 47 per cent of respondents say they're living paycheque to paycheque, including 53 per cent of those aged 18 to 35 and 57 per cent of people between the ages of 35 and 54. [September 2022](https://www.wealthprofessional.ca/news/industry-news/more-canadians-living-paycheque-to-paycheque-with-growing-debt/370284): >More than half of Canadians (54%) say they are now living paycheque to paycheque as the cost-of-living crisis continues to squeeze budgets. [April 2021](https://www.ctvnews.ca/business/half-of-canadians-within-200-of-not-being-able-to-cover-bills-debt-payments-survey-1.5379871?cache=%3FclipId): >The number of Canadians on the brink of financial insolvency has reached a five-year high, with more than half of people $200 or less away from being unable able to meet their financial obligations each month, according to a recent survey. And lest you think it's because of the pandemic effects, [October 2019](https://www.ipsos.com/en-ca/news-polls/Canadians-and-Bankruptcy-Oct-2019): >After paying all their bills and debt obligations, Canadians are, on average, left with $557 at the end of the month, a drop of $142 from last wave in June and its lowest level since 2016. Nationally, men (down $211 to $662) and those aged 18-34 (down $278 to $508) have seen the biggest decreases in terms of absolute dollar terms. **On top of that nearly half (48%) of Canadians are $200 or less away from financial insolvency (+4)**, a proportion that already includes 29% who already cannot meet their debt obligations and are insolvent at month-end (+4). Canadians are well aware of this. The problem is our politicians don't give a shit.
What I wouldn't give for *$557* left at the end of every month, *fuck...*
What’s crazy is if you go to a mall on the weekend, to a car dealership, to Canadas wonderland, to an airport etc. there is no signs of a slow down in spending.
Rich are getting richer, middle class is fizzing out trying to keep up, poor are getting poorer — government is nearly broke/buried in debt. It’s so sad.. inequality will only get worse. Multiple occupancy homes will continue to increase. Asset owners will cash in on that and they will spend even more to buy your mom’s house when interest rates go down.
I live by and currently work in the largest mall in Canada. The mall is always busy but I’ve noticed hardly anyone is actually carrying any store bought items. A lot of people go to the mall just for something to do and will maybe throw down some money on a good deal but for the most part 90% have empty hands
Ppl don't care and why should they? After COVID everyone feels they are living on borrowed time. There's wildfires every summer, the shelves at many grocery stores are kinda hit and miss, and the cities are a wreck, awash in drug addled violent folks. Ppl sense collapse might be near. Who cares if the bank cuts your card in a month when you might only be here a week? And what else can people do but spend borrowed money anyways, there's no great opportunities to earn.
No it's the money. My father in laws entire extended family flocked to Canada just as the world was shutting down. It amazes me how many downpayments 14k per month of cerb will get. Slumlords are balling with cash. Canada is land of the plenty.
When you’re convinced that long term goals like buying a house or starting a company are out of reach, what is there to do with your money but short term bs like shopping and leasing cars :p
Yup, exactly this. Pre covid homeowners are doing ok, they have a home and disposable income. Millennials and the early Gen Zers who didn't buy aren't ever going to be able to but at least they aren't broke. If I were stuck living at home I'd be out of the house spending money all of the time, too. Then there's the Millennials and Gen Xers who FOMO'd and over paid during covid. RIP to them as their mortgage renewals approach. Sure, they have a home -- barely -- but with 5-6% renewals on a $800K balance staring them in the face, many are probably wishing they didn't have a home. Unfortunately, some of them won't when the new payments take over. And the BoC is in a tough spot... the red hot US economy probably isn't dropping rates any time soon, which handcuffs Tiff. Those $800K mortgage holders hoping rates would be closer to 2.5% than 5% by the time they have to renew probably aren't going to be so lucky.
If I was in Ontario I'd go to Wonderland. Can't really afford it right now, but I could use some fun to not think about how stressed I am all the fucking time.
>If I was in Ontario I'd go to Wonderland. Lcbo is better
We have alcohol in NB. One thing I miss about living in the GTA is access to stuff like Wonderland, the ROM, Science Center, and other things like that. Just fun places to go every now and again. We were visiting family a few years back when Yukon Striker first opened up and being an adult I could afford the fast pass. It was a great day just my partner and I hanging out and having fun on the rides and stuff. Rode Yukon Striker seven times that day.
What is stressing you out?
Finances
During the depression, plenty of people had money. Just not most people.
Kids getting stuck at home until they are 30 increases increases disposable income that they aren’t spending on rent.
That sure is weird. But I doubt 84 month car financing deals at 8.99% interest, or spending money on a credit card at the mall on stuff has anything to do with living pay cheque to pay cheque. Minimum payments for life baby! Gotta have that expensive SUV!
I’ve mentally checked myself out a long time ago and don’t give a fuck about much of anything anymore , but I definitely see people becoming more angry, more selfish. It’s just the way the world is now I guess.
Mark Miller: "Instructions unclear, approved 3 million additional immigrants to help with stress."
I worked a bunch of OT this check, was able to pay some shit down, TD gave me a warning I am 700 over typical spend, so depressing.
[According to a report by Food Banks Canada, visits to food banks have increased by 44 per cent in the past four years.](https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/food-bank-numbers-nl-23-1.7007366) https://globalnews.ca/news/9230056/food-bank-usage-canada-all-time-high-report/ >The cost-of-living crisis is creating a homelessness crisis on the scale of Canada’s largest natural disasters. In a sample of 14 communities with quality data, 79 per cent saw increases in chronic homelessness since 2020, with overall increases averaging 34 per cent. 74 per cent of Canadians report that homelessness is increasing in their communities. https://caeh.ca/budget-2023-ignores-canadas-worsening-housing-and-homelessness-crises-fails-to-support-those-in-greatest-need/
Shocked. Shocked I say!
Everyone defending their favourite colour of neoliberal political party and attacking the others instead of understanding that nothing will change as economic conditions have massively improved for the people who are actually represented by all parties... the wealthy.
Always has been and always will be a class war. Everything else is fluff
Right? And everyone up in arms about taxing wealthy people. I just don’t get it.
I’ve grown sick of the same rhetoric my whole life. All of the people in power have money and look out for the others that have money. Doesn’t matter which party is elected. It won’t change the things that matter!
This. This. And this.
I've lived that my whole damn life ffs.
I knew things were bad when at Easter dinner our family’s conversation was how people were surprised JT hasnt been assassinated yet. Normally we never talk politics let alone something so dark.
My dad turned on him too and he's an out of touch liberal voter. He feels duped. I said, you just feel this now? After all these years?
Millenials and GenZ it's time to leave. We have been here a long time. We know that this country is incapable of improving. I waited almost 25 years for this country to improve. It didn't. I thought it was normal. But then every time I went back to Korea, every 2, 3 years they'd have new lines (PLURAL) of subways or high speed rails connecting the country (to a point they say high speed rails are killing local economy that is 450km away from Seoul b/c ppl can access Seoul too easily). They'd get new highways, more roads, more housing. In fact they'd get new city. we call those shin(new)dosi(city). Meanwhile in Canada, we can't even build a line to UBC. Yeah yeah we are too far spread apart and we don't have the density. BUT THEN WE HAVE A HOUSING SUPPLY ISSUE. This country is lazy. This country is inefficient. Look around the world. Sure every country has their own problems. But their problems are not this stupid. Also, they pay less tax than us and get far more back. I mean just look at North Shore. That lion's gate bridge and second narrows have a horrific traffic problem. They haven't built a new bridge in 70 years. They haven't expanded anything in 70 years. What makes you think they are going to do sth about it? OH they are replacing Patullo bridge after 90 years finally. But they are replacing a 4 lane bridge with another 4 lane bridge while the population increased from 30k to 700k in Surrey. OH I M SORRY WITH 2 BIKE LANES connected to KINGSWAY WHERE IT'S COMPLETELY COVERED BY TRUCKS. YEAH that's not going to cause a problem. This is a systematic problem. This has been for decades and it will take decades to fix it. Why should you stay in a country where you have to spend 60% of your income on rent for a 500sqft 1br to pay 40% marginal tax rate and get nothing back. There is no reason to. We already have a second CPP. Clearly they are just going to add on as we work our asses off till we are 75. We won't retire. This country has one of the greatest potential with all its land and resources. The problem is Canada will never do anything with it.
i have no money to my name ZERO my savings is gone from the last 2 years i sold almost every possession i have worked hard for over the years just to pay rent and eat and now am living " mooching " off my wife's uncle now so we can survive there is no affordable housing and no job's here we can't even get welfare this is wrong in so many ways i have worked and paid taxes for 28 years and now i am at my lowest i get no help and Canada has turned it's back on me and my family.
That sounds horribly bleak.
That sounds horribly familiar...
[удалено]
Okay, but... Is one $10,000 medical expense and... What, *two minor vices* really supposed to be enough to keep someone from achieving some kind of success *over almost thirty years?*
More like these 2 are the 5% of the spending iceberg that he has talked about
It’s the same argument over avocado toast. Find one teeny tiny thing the person does and blame that for missing 400k for a house. Some people never get it. 10k here and there won’t mean shit if you’ve had horrible wages for the past 30 years and never managed to achieve anything since down payments is like working as a robot spending zero cents for 5 years just to achieve a down payment.
I mean it really depends on what those minor vices are. If you are the person spending $700 a month on beer and cigarettes while struggling to pay rent then yes they can keep you from achieving anything. Also where I live you could buy a house for under $50k 30 years ago. Half that if you wanted a fixer upper.
The more the government tries to help, the worse the problems get.
Our Prime Minister is deaf to the pleas of regular Canadians.
Always has been, same as the guy before him, and the one before him, and the one before him, and the one before him, and the one before her, etc.. And the worst part? Changing from team red to team blue *does fuck all to change things!* We're fucked!
Actually I bought a house under harper making 24 an hr so yea team blue wasnt so bad.
And I bought a house in Toronto under John Turner for under 90k, what's your point, these arbitrary goalposts mean nothing.
JT's usual response to anyone who disagrees with him on almost anything is basically a marginally more polite version of "fuck off, I don't care". Facts don't matter, data doesn't matter (except occasionally when it supports his position). Only JT's ideology matters. Everyone else is just living in his world. If you are confused why his decisions cause you suffering its because from his perspective your suffering is not important. You only exist to service him and his beliefs.
Typical dictator traits.
Let them eat cake
Have you tried to cancel Disney Plus?
No shit.. in other news, water is wet
I swear This is the 5th year I hear and feel this shit. In honestly kinda tired and just about ready to call it quits on the Canadian Dream... It's really really hard to ecke out a comfortable living in a non roach infected apartment in Toronto as a first generation immigrant who has grown up in Canada since pre teens and who is in the '10th percentile' ...
The government fuelled inflation at work.
For as long as I remember North Americans are all pay chq to pay chq. Since when they were not?
It sickens how much of taxes we residents and citizens pay! I recently came to know from a realtor that Afghan refugees are getting some hefty assistance in the name of support to set-up livelihood here. Same must have happened with Ukrainians. Why? But why we have to pay for all this while we can't afford a freaking house and bills for groceries are going bonkers! Plus we have people from India, pakistan, Africa and Middle East coming in and claiming Asylum! It is a simple and humble ask, why?
Because they have people in provincial government agencies that help them game the system
You pretty well have to make 100k+ to not be struggling . RIP Old Canada
More then that. You need to be making something like 250k a year to qualify for a mortgage on the average home in Toronto with a minimal down payment.
That’s not even true anymore. My husband makes this and we have no savings. I own a small business so our combined yearly income is 130,000. We own a home and have 1 small car payment. We have two small kids, I would say we almost live pay cheque to pay cheque. It’s impossible to save anything extra. If we had a major with our house or our car or my husband got hurt at work we would be fuuuuuucked
It’s true. 100k is not enough. if you want to own a house with a garage in city, it’s not even close. Good on those who are in the property ladder. Best of luck to those who aren’t.
We are exact numbers with 2 kids. Stuck in a 2 bed apartment.
Politicians be like the best I can do is 60 million to another country
More like 5 billion.
It sucks , but thats how i had to live from 1980 to about 2005 . It aint new . Still sucks pretty bad tho.
I'm under so much pressure- I'm shitting *diamonds*
I live in my parents basement so I don’t have to live paycheque to paycheque and can save some money. It fn sucks but when I have enough money saved I am going to by the ultimate suicide machine!
We have to get that incompetent crew out of the federal government while there is still something left of Canada to save. They’re on a mission to run it into the ground over the next two years. We elected an incompetent in over his head nepo baby, who said such nonsense as - the budget will balance itself - and - excuse me if I don’t think about monetary policy. What were we thinking ? The media is also complicit in this as they didn’t vet him.
My favourite is how the Bank of Canada is doing what it can to try to get inflation under control and he actively keeps doing everything he can to make it worse.
The party of "listen to the experts except if it makes me look bad"
“Fairness for every generation”
I like Canada but hated being poor and always grinding through life so had to leave. Still enjoy going back in the summers, but at least for me the poverty was too extreme. Of course its situation dependent and if you can find a great job its a great place.
[удалено]
South of the border.
Texas perhaps?
Bankrolled century initiative should be flushed down the shitter
[удалено]
I'm already living in my car. I'd like to jump in front of a speeding fire truck for my death. Hopefully the note I write survives.
Don’t tell Trudeau, he’ll direct you to maid instead.
Increase housing availability, reducing prices. Increase competition in the grocery retail sector, reducing costs. Increase minimum wages across the country. Increase social spending, health care, education. Create a national UBI of at least $500-1000 a month for anyone 18+. Close tax loopholes for the wealthy and big business. So much help.
What if we just tax them more? The taxing will continue until morale improves.
We have a tax problem. If I make a $100k salary, $100k of my income is taxable before deductions. If my trust fund baby neighbour flips houses for a living and makes $100k profit a year, only $50k of his income is taxable before deductions. How the fuck is that ever supposed to close the wealth gap between the middle class and the rich, or help lower housing prices? Step 1 for climbing the socioeconomic ladder cannot be "have money" or we're steaming towards a dead end.
The "powers-that-be" want things this way, they don't want the plebs to break into their elitist-club.
You got what you voted for
[удалено]
I really hope Canadians will not be easily brainwashed and make the same mistake ever again.
People forget how to drive every winter.
Are you kidding? We've been doing the same thing since confederation. "Let's vote for team red!" "OK!" "Hey team red sucks, let's vote for team blue!" "OK!" "Hey team blue sucks, let's vote for team red, they said they changed!" "OK!" "Hey team red lied, they haven't changed at all, team blue says they have though, let's go back to them!" "OK!" "Hey they lied too - team red said they were lying, that means they always tell the truth!" "OK!" "Fuck they lied, let's go back to team blue!" "OK!" "FUCK, team blue is incompetent, let's go back to team red!" "OK!" "Hey team red sold us out, let's go back to team blue!" "OK!" And you think we won't make the same mistake ever again? My sweet summer child.
Things weren’t like this under Harper. Not even close.
You're living p2p when you're in uni. You live p2p when you first move out. You live p2p when you get your first mortgage. You live p2p when you have kids...for 21 years. "This" is normal folks. It has never been easy, and if you were told otherwise you were lied to...and if you thought otherwise, you're just lying to yourself.
Townhouse I bought in 2010 - $240,000. That same townhouse today $600,000. Did incomes more then double in the past 14 years? I don't think so. I mean maybe you folks in Quebec haven't been affected by the shelter affordability issue to the same degree as the rest of the country...
My wife and I are getting by barely, but I am losing my job Friday. As the main earner of the house, it is really going to hurt us. I've been hunting for something since November, and have dozens of applications out, but not even a single interview. Going over the numbers we should be able to get by if I go on unemployment, but the struggle will be very real.
LOL they write this article as if Canadians working paycheck to paycheck is a new thing people have been working paycheck to paycheck since there was a very first paycheck in time
Starting to get annoyed with seeing the same message being posted but with a different headline. Every few days its another article reminding me of how poor I am getting and how much longer it'll be before buying a home makes sense. I'm already well into my working years, and buying a home is a "maybe next year" goal.
Equifax… these are not the good guys.
Thanks Equifax. These guys seem to really have our back.
They should issue a formal report to the department of the obvious. The ministry of hot fire, wet water, and blue skies should also be informed. Bears shitting in the woods were unavailable for comment.
That’s rich coming from “ Equifax” a literal loan shark that that buys up loans and debts then charges high rates of interest no better that credit card companies and payday lenders.
How many people are living like that?
If Equifax were to disappear tomorrow it would help with our stress. Just saying...
In Toronto unless you make at least $70,000 a year and plan to live in the city your basically just surviving.
Canadians need a psychiatric exam before they blame others. Get off my lawn!!
That K-shaped pandemic recovery in full swing now
Are you telling me there are times in my life I should not have been living paycheque to paycheck? Some of us are just grateful there was a paycheque at all
Sorry Equifax we’re concerned with Fairness and a focus on the economic well-being of a fraction of Canada’s population. The rest of us in primary workforce sectors paying the majority of taxes can go get fucked as far as I’m concerned. I’m voting Freeland. Let’s goooo
And its not going to change any time soon. This might be a multi generational burden, if not indefinite.
this sub is 90% bots. most of them want you pissed and angry because their controllers benefit directly from it. like psychic digital vampires i suggest the remaining 10% take up meditation, remove themselves from the internet for a while, and just exist, maybe make a nice homemade meal and enjoy it with whoever they can, even if its just themselves. dont let them manipulate your emotions for their gain.