Canada at a Crossroads

This post is longer than what I usually write, but that’s okay. The issue we’re facing in Canada today is complicated, layered, and worth exploring in depth. There’s a growing sense among everyday Canadians that something has shifted. It’s not just the rising cost of living or the lack of affordable housing. It’s something deeper. A feeling that the Canada we once knew is slipping away, piece by piece. This change didn’t happen overnight. It’s been years in the making, driven by a mix of government decisions, corporate practices, and cultural policies that have slowly chipped away at our national foundation. Here’s a look at some of the main factors contributing to the erosion of Canada’s identity.

Immigration

Canada has always been proud of being a multicultural society, but somewhere along the way, we lost sight of balance. Our immigration system stopped being about integration and started becoming a collection of exceptions. It’s one thing to welcome people from all walks of life. It’s another to allow new rules to be created that override the ones Canadians have lived by for generations.

Back in 1990, the RCMP changed its dress code to allow Sikh officers to wear turbans instead of the traditional Stetson hat. Since then, more exceptions have followed. Muslim riders are allowed to forgo helmets while on motorcycles or bicycles. Hijabs are permitted in places where full identification should be required. In 2006, the Supreme Court allowed a Sikh student to bring a ceremonial dagger to school as a matter of religious freedom. Prayer accommodations in schools and workplaces are mandatory, yet Bibles have been removed from schools while still provided in jails.

Other countries like Australia and New Zealand have taken a stricter approach. They emphasize one law for all, without exceptions. Visa applicants must meet standards around character, language, and economic contribution. The goal is not to divide society, but to unite it under common values. As former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said in 2020, diversity is a strength, but only when built on shared principles.

If you’re interested in a deeper dive into how immigration has affected Canadian identity, I wrote a full post on it here: Canada’s Changing Identity: Tradition vs Multiculturalism

Government Overreach

No matter who has been in power, Canadian governments have repeatedly pushed past their limits. Under Stephen Harper, laws like citizenship revocation and mandatory minimum sentences were introduced despite clear constitutional red flags. His attempt to reform the Senate was ruled unconstitutional.

Then came the Trudeau government, which promised change but largely carried on in the same direction. While many Canadians blame Trudeau for everything wrong today, the truth is that this decline began long before he took office. Worse, while many will refuse to admit this, Canada dodged a bullet since Pierre Poilievre ran on a campaign that was seen as a carbon copy of Harper and, evidently, Donald Trump south of the border.

After almost 20 years with two different political parties at the helm, this is clearly not a left or right issue. It’s a failure of leadership across the board.

Real Estate Inflation

Few things have impacted Canadians more than the housing crisis. Home prices have skyrocketed, making ownership a dream for many and a burden for those who already bought in.

Several causes fuel this fire. A shortage of housing supply. A growing population through immigration. Soaring construction costs since COVID. Low interest rates that led to a rush in buying.

• Foreign investment, particularly when properties were bought with the intention of reselling for profit, contributed to price inflation. Speculation, including the use of properties as investments rather than residences, also played a role.
• The injection of illicit funds into the real estate market, often through opaque ownership structures like shell companies and trusts, has been identified as a significant factor in inflating prices.
• The practice of “blind bidding” in multiple-offer situations, where buyers don’t know other bids, has been criticized for driving up prices beyond fair market value and creating an unfair advantage for sellers.
• This involved real estate agents reselling a property multiple times before the initial deal closed, often without the original seller’s full knowledge or benefit, generating significant commissions for agents and inflating prices.
• Cases had emerged where “shadow” mortgage brokers used fake documents to secure mortgages for unqualified homebuyers, further inflating prices and contributing to risky lending practices.

Eventually, regulators had no choice but to tighten the rules. But the damage was already done.

Seemingly Coordinated Pricing

Remember the gas wars? When one station would slash its prices, and others had to follow to stay competitive? That used to be normal. Now, prices seem to rise at every station at the same time. They don’t go down much. They just inch higher and higher.

Economists call this “oligopolistic behaviour.” There’s no need for an illegal deal when only a handful of players control the market and quietly follow each other’s lead. It’s not technically collusion, but it sure feels like it.

When the carbon tax was removed, gas prices dipped. A few weeks later, they were right back where they started. The excuse used to be the tax. Now it’s just silence while profits grow.

Amalgamation

When big companies buy their competitors, they gain more control over the market. That usually means less competition and higher prices for everyone else.

Rogers Communications / Shaw
Loblaw / Shoppers Drug Mart
Sobeys / Canada Safeway
Enbridge / Spectra Energy
Bass Pro Shop / Cabela’s
Air Canada / Air Transat 
Cargill / JBS (beef processing)

Canada’s Competition Bureau has highlighted that a decline in competitive intensity across various sectors has resulted in fewer benefits for consumers, such as lower prices, greater choice, and more innovation.

Corporate Greed

We already mentioned oil companies, but the same pattern shows up in many industries.

Grocery prices went up nearly 7 percent after COVID, peaking at 11 percent in 2022. At first, people understood. Supply chains were a mess. Stores were short-staffed. But those excuses don’t hold up now. Despite things returning to normal, prices have stayed high.

Loblaw’s profits went up by one billion dollars a year after buying Shoppers. That’s not survival. That’s exploitation.

When you combine our permissive merger policies with a lack of regulation, it creates a perfect storm for corporate greed to thrive. Consumers in Canada pay up to 40 percent more in key sectors like telecom, groceries, and airlines compared to countries with real competition.

Even the so-called tariff war, started under Donald Trump, has shifted the global market in ways that continue to raise costs for Canadian consumers.

Conclusion

Canada’s current situation didn’t come from one decision, one leader, or one era. It’s the result of many years of small shifts that, when added up, created a system that benefits the few and burdens the many.

COVID pushed a lot of these issues into overdrive, but they were already in motion. Whether it’s our housing market, our cultural fabric, or the prices we pay at the pump and grocery store, the pressures we face are real and growing.

But there is still hope. With one of the world’s most respected economists now serving as Prime Minister, there’s at least a chance we can chart a smarter course. It won’t be easy. And with uncertainty south of the border, now more than ever, we need steady hands and clear thinking.

This is not the time for finger-pointing or division. It’s the time to come together as Canadians and find our way out of this mess. There will be plenty of time to argue later. Right now, we need to focus on solutions to return this beautiful country to what it once was.