I don't think you have to be extreme right wing to have legitimate concerns for the future of Canada. The country is literally on fire. Houses are over $1 million and health care is barely functioning.
Groceries are fucked, gasoline is fucked, interest rates are fucked, can’t buy a house, can’t buy a car (or probably shouldn’t right now), dollar is fucked, schools probably going on strike again, a Canadian team hasn’t won the Stanley cup in 30 years ……
And what’s really fun is that despite the housing crisis, many home builders outside the big-3 city areas are running slow right now because regular people can’t qualify for housing. I’ve only been working 5-12 days a month for the last year, between a shortage of framers (many moved to Ontario in 2021 due to work slowing), shortage of materials, and now interest rates killing purchases.
We’re so fucked, and anyone in a position to fix things just refuses to. If you build public housing, prices drop and you get voted out by angry house owners. Don’t build houses, and both homelessness and living standards get so much worse, and you get voted out by angry poor folks.
This just tells me that you don't know what fucked is.
Interest rates topped 21% , while mortgage rates topped 18% in 1981. Inflation was over 11% at the time. We'd just gone through two massive oil shocks, where the price of gasoline was almost double what we have now when adjusted for inflation, while cars struggled to get under 20L/100km and were rotted through by their third year.
Strikes were rampant, but so was high unemployment, at times topping 10%. A lot of industries just closed up shop, only accelerated as the Canada-US FTA came into effect.
By 1990, a lot of that had settled down due to the high interest rate treatment, but the accumulated debt of the Trudeau and Mulroney years had us facing a debt crisis just as we fell into a deep recession in 1991-92.
Dunno where she found a house for $45k ($160k in today's money) in 1980. Dad bought a new, three bedroom, split-level in Moncton in 1979 for $79k ($310k in today's money). Moncton at the time was really struggling with the recession. Prices in the GTA were much higher.
Housing prices were rapidly increasing in the GTA, and did so through the 1980s, finally flatlining at the end of the decade, before taking off again around 2000.
Also, prime mortgage rates at the time hit 16% in 1980 and peaked at 21.75% in 1981.
I just sold a 2500 sq ft, 4 bedroom house in Regina for a bit under $390k a few years ago. My current place in Winnipeg is a 1000 sq ft, two bedroom, two bathroom unit. and it was $260ish.
I purposely avoided transfers to the GTA or Greater Vancouver. There is no way I'd give up my free time and disposable income to be that miserable.
The average house price in the 80s was 3x the typical family’s annual income. Yes, 21% was high but had much smaller principals comapred to the 5%+ we have now when homes are at least 7x the typical family income.
Even worse in CCOL (Crazy Cost of Living) areas like Toronto or Vancouver. Vancouver needs a family income of over 225k to qualify for a mortgage on the average house price. This average house is not a dream home, you’re lucky if it’s 1200 SQ feet and in a safe neighborhood. Or within a 75 minute drive to work. Don’t even get me started on trying to buy a car today either.
I think what we need to do is not compare how fucked it was then, I don’t disagree that it was.
However it’s clearly fucked now and nobody’s doing anything to unfuck it.
So don't move to Vancouver or the GTA? Simple solution. I'm from the Maritimes. We'd always been told by Upper Canada and the West to "move to where the work is." Fair enough. How about moving to where you can afford to live?
Dad bought a house in 1979 that was $79k, in Moncton. In Toronto it would have been much more at the time. That's about $310k in today's money. Median income in 1979 was the equivalent of roughly $60k today. Dad made good money, had done well on previous houses, and Mum was an ER nurse, they could swing it. But a lot of people were really struggling. Especially those people who saw their fixed rate mortgage jump from 14% to almost 22%.
I’d generally agree, but unfortunately, we work in very specialized fields. The options in Canada for this work are Toronto or Vancouver. Otherwise its the USA and visas are a pain. We did that for a few years and while cheaper, that’s a big fucking nope now.
No, but the extreme right call Canada a dictatorship, a third world country, a shithole, etc. Hell, the leader of the official opposition called our freely and fairly elected right of center milquetoast Prime Minister and his father, “Marxists.” It’s ridiculous. Literally worthy of ridicule.
Most of the people who are complaining have no frame of reference other than being brought up in the safe, warm busom of one of the best countries in the world.
Absolutely true. There are problems but they are first world problems and we really are very lucky to live here. I just bristle at hearing things like, “Canada is a dictatorship”, no it isn’t, “Canada is a third world country”, no it isn’t, “Justin Trudeau is a Marxist and so was his father”, ridiculous. Some people need a dose of perspective.
See, that’s the thing. The 10 factors in the ranking include 1) Entrepreneurship, 2) “Open for Business”, 3) “Movers”, 4) Power, and 5) “Agility”, or a place that is ‘efficient in its actions, adopt and accept modern solutions’
So, like, half the factors are “how badly do you screw the environment and average non-capital-class citizen”
And in case you think I might be wrong about what they mean by “Movers”, the top 5 are the UAE, Qatar, Egypt, Saudia Arabia, and India.
Of COURSE our country, which is composed a bunch of oil, gas, and mining corps in a trenchcoat shaking hands with a couple of oligipolistic banks and telecoms will score well.
How the hell did we rank well then? Our productivity is very poor, and our economy is trading houses. The amount of capital flooding the housing market over the last few years is crazy.
Yes. This is correct however making it more on fire which is what the extreme right want to do is not the way. The majority of provinces have had Conservative governments over the last 8 years, until we resolve that issue Canada isn’t going to get better anytime soon. People don’t realize that the provinces have way more involvement in their day to day lives than the federal government. Many of our issues can be fixed by the provinces but they literally choose to make things worse instead, pass the blame to the federal government and morons eat it up
As a Canadian expat, these sorts of surveys are an embarrassment. Canada is not that great. It has some good things going for it, but “second best in the world” is a laughable statement.
The wealth disparity is terrible
Nearly every inhabited patch of land is a suburban hellscape.
The government is routinely dedicated to accomplishing as little as possible, especially on climate
The fossil fuel lobby is embarrassingly strong
The cost of living is extreme for many, with little effort to reign it in
The country suffers from an inferiority complex in relation to the US of all places.
The electoral system is broken
I mean, I love my country, but I’ve seen a lot of places that I’d rather live. The idea that we’re 2nd best compared to even half of the countries I’ve visited in the last 10 years is just silly.
I can really relate to this. I lived outside of Canada for 25 years. I recently-ish moved back to Canada and am totally blown away by things here. Life isn’t always amazing in any place you pick on the planet, but god damn, Canadians need to stop contemplating their collective belly button lint and focus on some of the massive issues that need attention.
Meanwhile my girlfriend just got back from travelling around Europe and all of those “superior” countries, and couldn’t wait to get home.
Said everyone was rude, taxis scammed her frequently, the public transit was pretty subpar with no other choice, the food was pretty mediocre, she had to be extra careful about pick pocketers, and lastly she said everyone stunk so bad from perfume that she had a constant headache.
Canada isn’t perfect, but it does have a ton going for it.
I’ve had similar experiences in several cities in the UK, Austria, Paris, Amsterdam and even a trip out to the nurburgring To be frank, the friendliest Europe experience I’ve had was Kosovo but that was on business vs personal with the rest of them so I’m not sure that didn’t affect my experience in Kosovo.
I agree completely with what you’re saying. Living in a progressive state is a far different experience and we should avoid generalizations of countries without specific context and understanding.
Well she wasn’t in the nordic countries at least, public transport can be subpar but is almost always servicable and gets you anywhere (we have on-demand minibuses for rural areas), the only part that could apply is being seen as rude because we don’t greet every person within our field of view…
Sounds like your girlfriend did the typical North American thing of visiting “Europe” by hitting a bunch of major cities and sticking to the touristy centres.
The Netherlands is gorgeous, quiet, and safe, but if you don’t wander further than one or two kilometres from Amsterdam Centraal, you’ll never see that. Rent a bike and ride through Haarlem or Utrecht if you want a proper experience.
Brussels has some of the best food I’ve ever tasted, but you have to break away from the tourist traps first.
Athens is an exciting, “young” city with ancient treasures literally on display in the subway stations. You’ll never see that if you just wander around the Parthenon. The food everywhere is great too, though the best spots are usually well outside the touristy areas.
Paris has some really exciting stuff happening with cycling right now, and the view from Momatre is amazeballs. Yes, the locals can be rude, but fuck it, take the train and get out of the city!
Which brings me to the other important point: Europe is not just the (impressive) cities, but rather a continental patchwork of interconnected but distinct cultures. Have breakfast in a B&B in Arras before you trek out to see the Vimy memorial, then board a train and be in Nyon by dinnertime where you can sit on a clear blue lake and munch on baguette. Hop on the train again and you’re in Torino, Venice, or Florence which is just gorgeous. I had the best pizza in my life there in a dodgy little place at 1am.
Stay a few nights in Warsaw and take a stroll through the old city. Gobble some perogi in Krakow and then push yourself to visit Auschwitz. Then take the train across the now undefended border to Berlin where you can walk the path of the former wall, and the next night go for the best danishes in the world… in Denmark.
Seriously, your girlfriend is out to lunch if that’s her impression of “Europe”. You two need to take another trip and rethink your priorities.
What you believe doesn’t change reality. The report is as the report is, the metrics are all there, and whether you believe it or not makes absolutely zero difference.
Ah…the classic, “No you are!” gambit. Well played! Well played indeed.
Most of these people spreading the anti-Canadian hate are making a classic mistake of ego. “Canada is bad for me therefore Canada is bad.” It’s the same mistake that incels make. Some people have more than me so they are bad and the system is bad and the country is BAD.
EDIT: Brigades on Lemmy have no power. No one gives a shit about Karma here. You can’t silence voices you don’t like. Go ahead, downvote. No one fucking cares.
I saw some right wing idiot say it and thought it was funny. A delicate snowflake blocked me so I won’t have to listen to his incessant whining about my comments anymore so I call that a win.
Pretty much. Most of the best Universities in the world. That most of it’s citizens could never afford to attend. Many of the best Hospitals and specialty clinics in the world. That again most of it’s people can’t use.
Most American’s are somewhere in the middle, and I’m sure the median household has more disposable income than most other first world countries, it’s just that the prosperity is so unevenly spread.
Granted, some would speculate that it is because of the unevenness that the US is so prosperous, but I would dispute that. I think the US could go a long long ways towards helping it’s less fortunate without compromising it’s prosperity.
How does it compare to canada? I legit have no idea. I just remember reading in a thread like 2 days ago how an american person moved to canada and one of the main complaints was how pay was less and housing was way more.
House prices are much more reasonable in the USA. Obviously it’s a huge country and it depends where you want to live, but in comparison house prices in Canada make no sense whatsoever.
Culturally, very similar. There are subtle differences. Americans are louder and more confident in general I think. Also way more business oriented. People in general seem less healthy but the disparity with Canada isn’t that big anymore. Wealth disparity is though. Way more very poor people, way more really rich people. In Canada I’m a top 1% earner. In the USA I’m not really even close.
The obvious major difference from Canada is health insurance. If it’s not covered by your employer (92% of Americans have coverage last I checked), I hope you have some disposable income to pay to pay for health insurance. That being said, taxes are usually way lower depending on which state you’re in, so you very well might come out ahead, even with copay and deductible. For reference, I had a global health insurance plan with Cigna. It had 1 mil USD coverage and max out of pocket per year for me was like 3 k USD. That was 205 USD/month. This didn’t cover general doctors visits, or anything related to that. It was basically for visits to the emergency room. So if you’re looking for coverage at the same level as Canada, you’re going to be paying more. I have heard from numerous sources that the health care in the USA is way better than in Canada–as long as you can pay for it.
These are broad generalizations. USA is a very diverse place. Of all places I’ve been in the world, USA is the most similar to Canada, and Australia probably comes second.
No body said it was the best country - for a citizen - no no no. Its the best country for giant corporations!
Tired of wood, wetlands, and natives being of the way of your accident waiting to happen pipe line? Go Canada!
Don’t want to commit actual genocide on your native population? Rather isolate them in small communities then poison them with water unfit for even the most hearty of a animals? Go Canada!
Your wealthy friends want to make billions buying and selling green protected land? Go Ontario!
Are the homeless an eye sore to your wealthy friends visiting? Don’t worry, here in Canada we have 6 months of winter to clean up those unwanted eye sores.
An asteroid in the outer solar system. If we vote hard enough to have it win in our broken FPTP system. it’ll alter course and end this horrible timeline.
We need an electoral system that doesn’t take power from a large party that most people voted for and give it to a tiny fringe party that almost none voted for. Look at what’s happening in Israel. The most extreme party to get any seats is calling the shots because they hold the balance of power. Wouldn’t Canada be fun if the christofascists or tankies were calling the shots?
If we had a proportional representation system we’d have the majority of the House of Commons controlled through by an agreement agreement between the Liberals and the NDP. Exactly the situation we have now except the seats would be directly owned by the parties instead of representing communities.
Proportional representation is the preferred system for people that understand politics via spreadsheets while completely ignoring power dynamics.
Give me some STV! MMP seems to work well for NZ¹. Electoral reform won’t fix everything, but it will allow a path for more adaptability in politics at the very least.
¹ I’m also okay with AV (instant runoff). Is it perfect? No, but let not the perfect be the enemy of the good. AV at least overcomes the spoiler effect, and would allow more diversity of parties. AV does tend to encourage coalitions formed around a centrist party with broad support (probably the Liberals in Canadian federal politics) as they will tend to be the 2nd or 3rd pick, but the balance of other parties in any resulting coalition would tend to drive things. Plus, without the spoiler effect of FPTP there can always be a competitor for the centre. Basically. FPTP is the worst, and although I have my preferences, less bad is still improvement. Also, AV can always serve as a palate cleanser for full STV.
I mean, just yesterday there was an article from a French media company about how the US economy and GDP is now 80% larger than Europe’s. Link
The US is really high on this list though specifically due to economic reasons. Not social ones. Although strangely enough there is a bit of an odd section about the US being more adaptable to change than Canada or any other country, which I find kind of strange. Also, the US always ranks high because of the advanced medicine, technology and education. Whether it’s accessible to all or not is really mostly irrelevant to these surveys.
Historically what made a country great was its gold reserves and its military might… so like… 90% there? That said I agree that corporations are not what we want and that economic growth should be made to grow at a maintained level rather than unrealistic growth.
Historically, what made countries great was their ability to provide rising standards of living to its citizens. That often results in large gold reserves and military might, but plenty of places with gold and bullets were bad places to live.
But the rich wasn’t us to believe those metrics, so we can ignore how living standards are dropping, indicating that Capitalism has failed to provide a better lifestyle.
Oh man, that was a good laugh! I’d consider Ukraine more with us on the military might considering the ass they’re kicking. Switzerland can match us on the gold/economic, but I’m not sure how confident I’d be it isn’t stolen, nazi, or Russian (but I can’t say the same about the US’ either). China will probably come close to matching our military might if only because of their population advantage. India is going to be a massive player here shortly (militarily speaking), if not already.
The problem, and I know it’s what people don’t like to hear, is that the US quite literally cannot be beaten economically or militarily. Seriously, read that article I linked, it’s incredible the economic output the US generates. France has the same economy size as Idaho, a state famous for its potatoes and nothing else.
The best military logistics in the world and logistics is what wins wars. The biggest and most powerful economy in the world, even China and Germany have a stuttering economy (and pre-covid I would have pegged them as being on par). The biggest influence regarding culture, the next closest would maybe be Britain, but when it’s English media the US will still dominate. China has some cultural sway, but only within their own borders and even they consume American media like crazy.
It’s hard to say who out there could play a role in being as powerful as the US, and an empire decline is bound to happen. It’s not immune.
I would however put the early Soviet Union for sure up there with the US. They had some amazing technological innovations. The only problem was that a communist government got into an economic war with a capitalist government and that was never going to work well. Slow and steady growth like the Cubans is more the way to do it.
As a digital nomad, I’m guessing you would have been to relatively low CoL places like Bali, Thailand, maybe Eastern Europe or LatAm. You have to remember that your experience as someone from the global north, earning in a strong currency is very different from a local person there.
Not that i disagree with you that rankings are flawed but by the same token, Canada /is/ in the top 5 for many people from low standard-of-living countries
Typically you’d be right but as a DN I actually spent most of my time in North America and western Europe—mostly in countries people would compare Canada with (UK, France, Spain, Norway, Germany, USA, Australia, etc.). I never went to Asia or South America as a DN. Actually the only time I stepped foot in LatAm was in Panama for a month this past winter.
It really changed my perspective on Canada. I don’t think it’s a bad country at all but I don’t hold it in as high regard as I once did. Every country has its strengths and weaknesses. What those are is different for everyone. Canada is squandering immense potential in my opinion. If it wasn’t for family, there are several places in the USA I would consider living long term instead.
I’m not sure I really have a favourite. Every country has good and bad. There are some parts of the USA (ex. Colorado, Washington) that I really like. But also the USA has its own issues that we all know about. France is beautiful but there can be civil unrest, taxes are high, etc. I spent some time in Singapore and it’s very safe, clean, great food, but it’s also stale and far from a lot of places. Culture comes into play a lot. I can recognize that somewhere is a great place to live but it’s not for me. I didn’t grow up there, I don’t speak the language, etc. In Europe I feel most “at home” in the Netherlands.
Different things matter to different people. So saying things like “this country is #2” are meaningless. Countries I personally would rank above Canada: USA, Netherlands, Norway, Australia, New Zealand.
I don’t know how they measured this at US News either, but the digital nomad experience is pretty different from the local experience. By digital nomad standards certain third world cities are great.
In some aspects sure. Try being at the beginning of your adult life right now. Housing, the cost of food/goods, a lethargic/apathetic government. Those things should be enough evidence to say that we aren't the second best country in the world.
Those things should be enough evidence to say that we aren’t the second best country in the world.
And yet…they aren’t. Canada ranks very high in quality of life, personal and religious freedom, and many other measures. There are problems, yes, but they are problems effecting the second best country in the world to live in. People living other places are dying to come here.
Canada is the 12th safest country in the world. The US is 129th.
Can we just stop comparing ourselves to the States for once? Our Literally Fascist Neighbours don't warrant any consideration when discussing the quality of life here.
We have it very good here.
Which segments of the population are you choosing to speak for here, exactly?
The people who complain about Canada often hold the US up as an example of what Canada should be because they can have guns, have hate speech, and are free to discriminate against people they hate
The cities are completely unaffordable.
All of the parties are in favour of using TFW programs to suppress workers rights and not doing anything about blatantly illegal anti-worker activities.
The Trudeau government is welcoming immigrants at a rate of at least 3% of the population per year(not the problem), but not spending a penny on infrastructure to support that kind of increase(a big problem)
Carbon offset credits are a complete joke.
The ISPs are in charge of the body that is supposed to regulate and rein them in.
BC is being devastated by climate change and Ottawa isn't lifting a damn finger on it.
Its not fair to dismiss the problems of the people who lead very difficult lives in this country because someone on the other side of the planet has it worse there.
Where is your perspective on that?
"Sorry, I know you have an unhappy and difficult life but you should just learn to be greatful because I saw people over yonder who have a different kind of difficult life."
You keep saying people need perspective, I think you do. You look at this country through rose coloured glasses.
I don’t dismiss the legitimate complaints of people who live in Canada. There are problems. I’ve said that repeatedly throughout these comments. What I’m saying is that Canada isn’t any of the things the neo-Nazis and the tankies say it is. It isn’t a dictatorship. It isn’t turning into a third world shithole. Our Prime Minister isn’t a Marxist and neither was his father. Canada is a great country and a great place to live. Wealth inequality is a big fucking problem. Corruption is a big fucking problem. The erosion of workers rights is a big fucking problem. Capitalism has run its course and it’s time for a change. That doesn’t mean that Canada is a bad place to live and the people who say it is is are entitled, whiney idiots.
I agree wholeheartedly with all of that. If you've stated those things throughout these comments, for some reason I cannot see them, so I apologize for harping on you.
I just disagree that it is the 2nd best country in the world to live in. Where it accurately lands I cannot say, but #2 is not it. And that's okay. I still love this country.
I just disagree that it is the 2nd best country in the world to live in. Where it accurately lands I cannot say, but #2 is not it. And that’s okay. I still love this country.
I do as well. I think it’s the best country in the world to live in. I’ve been lots of places, many high on that list and many very low on that list, and I would not choose to live in any of them instead of Canada.
Our Prime Minister isn’t a Marxist and neither was his father.
Well… the Canadian media did spent an inordinate amount of time trying to prove the Trudeau was not the love child of a self-proclaimed Marxist, which was quite strange as it makes absolutely no difference who his farther is.
I’m not sure that it was the media that did that. I suspect that it was the alt-right media (“alt” being their preferred pronoun instead of the more accurate “extreme”).
And…who is father is only matters to the right. No one else gives a shit about what other people are doing in the privacy of their own bedrooms.
I wouldn’t exactly call those outlets left leaning, but alt-right?
And…who is father is only matters to the right.
And that earlier commenter who was overly concerned about who his father was, making sure we knew he was the one that wasn’t a Marxist, as if that matters. Crazies to be found everywhere, I suppose.
Through a survey of over 17,000 people from 36 countries
Oh, so subjectively “better”? What about objective measurements, like how many people are a paycheck away from losing it all? Or the cost of living? Or worker rights?
Specifically, Canada was chosen as the:
2nd best country to start a career
4th best country for education
7th best country for studying abroad
7th best country for raising kids
2nd best country for racial equality
6th best country for women
6th best country for comfortable retirement
6th most transparent country
2nd best country to headquarter a corporation
Imagine a sports team coming in 6th place for most tournaments, and never winning first in any of them, yet they win an award for being the 2nd best team in the league… makes no sense to me.
Did everyone from Hexbear and Lemmygrad move to lemm.ee? I notice that that’s where most of the anti-Canadian hate is coming from. Was there a brigade message sent out or is this just organic?
That dude is an asshole, but it is not gaslighting. people try to apply gaslighting to everytype of conflict now. Gaslighting would be them saying you formerly told them you lived in Paranoiaville and now you are denying it. it is when somebody actively tries to twist your memory, not just contradict you , or be sarcastic or condescending.
Gaslighting is the act of trying to convince someone that they are crazy. In its simplest form telling someone who is not crazy that they are crazy is gaslighting.
No, it has to be a repeated effort with manipulation to convince you are, not a rando making a sarcastic insult. If you question where you live by them saying paranoiaville is your home town then you have another issue, as you know exactly where you live, and also know they are making a sarcastic comment on you being paranoid.
It might be the second best, but I feel like that’s more of a statement on the rest of the world failing in specific areas than on Canada excelling.
We’re a B- student in every class. Sure, it’s not the highest score and in every subject we’re usually surpassed by other countries, but most other countries don’t have a B- average due to major issues of some kind.
Canada has been in the top two or three for a very long time. Someone challenged that the rest of the world was falling and Canada was probably way lower in 2016. I went back and checked and we were number 2 in 2016 as well.
Pretty much. They’re complaining about housing prices and inflation just as much or more in New Zealand, Germany and the UK.
Canada probably is a B- but has the advantage of being next door to the largest economy in the world. Canada is also vast with abundant resources. We were always going to be a prosperous country as long as we can avoid too much corruption (Russia is a more vast country with more abundant resources, but…)
I still think it’s useful to look at other countries that may even be beneath us (according to this list) and borrow liberally from where they exceed us. We are doing about as well as anyone else, but we can do better.
I had to click through to see the ratings in each category, and they all seemed reasonable to me aside from Canada’s low rank for “Adventure”. Eco tourism is huge in Canada. People come from all over the world to Canada for outdoor adventure.
Maybe I’m just not a traveler, but that ranking seemed odd to me.
Then again, I don’t live in the continuous urban sprawl of Southern Ontario all along the 401 and up the 400. I guess if you live in Toronto, you’re like 2+ hours from eco tourism destinations, while, in Europe, 2 hours is enough to have the option to go to several other countries.
I wonder if the ecotourism being seasonal knocks off prospective points. You can only comfortably travel the cannuck wilds for ~5 months out of the year, if that.
Maybe east of the rockies. In BC I have friends that go camping all year long. Our mountains are open all year for activities (skiing, snowboarding, etc. in the winter mountain bike, hike, etc. in the summer). Heck, you can ski, bike, surf all in one day on Vancouver Island if you’re so inclined, though it’ll be a long ass day.
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