Diane Francis: Co-captains Trudeau and Singh running Canada into the ground
The Good Ship Canada is taking on water, and bringing in far too many unproductive crew, and its Captain Justin Trudeau simply re-arranges the deck chairs.
Suddenly, Canada’s economy contracted in the second quarter this year and heads toward a recession, the first high-income country to do so. Canadians threaten to mutiny — a recent poll showed that a majority want Trudeau and his governing sidekick, Jagmeet Singh, out of office.
“Canada is one of the only high-income countries yet to economically rebound from the COVID recession. Average income per person in Canada (adjusted for inflation) was $55,677 in the first three months of this year compared to $56,183 at the end of 2019. We’re poorer today than we were three-and-half years ago despite the avalanche of federal government spending and borrowing,” concluded the Fraser Institute in a July report.
It also cited that Canadian incomes have fallen against American incomes since Trudeau took power. “In 2016, average per-person incomes in Canada were 82 per cent of U.S. levels — C$54,154 compared to C$65,792, or an $11,600 difference per person. By the end of 2022, our per-person incomes had fallen to 76 per cent of U.S. levels — C$55,863 compared to C$73,565. Put differently, Canadians are $17,700 per person poorer than Americans,” added the Institute.
Under Trudeau, Canada is unable to accommodate the high immigration targets of his government, thanks to inflation, higher interest rates, unaffordable housing prices, and a health care crisis. Many Canadians do not have a family physician and cannot get doctors’ appointments for months, a problem worsened by a growing population.
Unfortunately, Canadians could be stuck with the ruling trust fund duo until 2025, when
Read more on financialpost.com
