No, Toronto Star, Canadians aren’t “wealthier” after the Liberals

No one should be allowed to whitewash the sharp decline in Canada’s standard of living under Canada's federal Liberal government.

According to The Toronto Star, Canadians are "wealthier" now than in 2015 when the Liberals first took office. Columnist David Olive’s recent piece claims as much — a jaw-dropping assertion that ignores the harsh realities millions of Canadians now face after nearly a decade of federal Liberal government.

But Olive’s column shouldn’t come as a surprise. In the coming weeks as the federal Liberal leadership begins, and in light of historically dismal Liberal polling, Canadians should expect to be treated to two types of spin from left-wing sympathizers. First, they’ll blame Canada’s struggles on external factors like American tariffs or global pandemics, not their own decade of incompetence and poor decisions. Second, they’ll try to rewrite history, framing the Liberal’s nine-year tenure as a golden era worth continuing.

In that, Olive’s column is a textbook example of both approaches, dressed up as revisionist history.

Olive’s premise that Canadians are “wealthier” now than they were in 2015 will come as a big surprise to families for whom ground beef and butter are luxury items. Same goes for renters facing double-digit rent hikes or homeowners grappling with soaring mortgage rates. But Olive’s column doesn’t just pretend Canadians are thriving — he attempts to absolve the Liberal government of responsibility for Canada’s present economic mess.

Here’s the truth: Canada isn’t just a passive victim of global events. Trudeau’s government made a series of disastrous policy decisions that deepened the crises we now face.

For example, Olive wants us to believe the pandemic fallout was unavoidable. It wasn’t. Canada imposed some of the world’s longest and harshest lockdowns, hobbling businesses, undermining education, and fraying social cohesion. Vaccine mandates — cynically weaponized in Trudeau’s 2021 snap election bid — divided the nation further.

The Liberals also went on an irresponsible spending spree - before, during, and after the pandemic - printing money at record levels. Even before COVID, Trudeau’s government had ramped up deficit spending unnecessarily. The result? Spiraling inflation and soaring interest rates. A recent report confirmed what many Canadians already knew: federal Liberal deficit spending is a key driver of Canada’s inflation crisis.

By every meaningful metric, Canada is worse off than peer nations. Our average annual per capita GDP growth is 0.7%, tied for second-last in the G7. As of Q2 2024, Canadian GDP per capita declined for 6 straight quarters (since Q1 2023) (see StatsCan tables 36-10-0123-01 and 17-10-0009-01 for reference). Among 30 OECD countries, Canada is also near the bottom for inflation-adjusted GDP growth. Unemployment is up to 6.6%, and it’s harder than ever for Canadians to find or keep private-sector jobs.

At the household level, the situation is even bleaker. Canada now has the highest household debt in the G7 — over 180% of disposable income. Half of Canadians live paycheck to paycheck, dedicating more income to debt payments while cutting back on essentials like certain types of food or clothing. And that doesn’t even take into account the inability for many Canadians to access health care: overcrowded ERs and months-long wait times have become the norm.

Olive’s claim that Canadians are “wealthier” ignores the grim societal realities that happened under the Liberal’s rule. Housing costs have doubled since 2015, with over a quarter of Canadians now considering leaving the country for better affordability. Food bank usage has surged by 50% since 2021, and homelessness has skyrocketed. Violent crime, gang-related homicides, and drug deaths have all massively increased under a decade of Liberal rule, while the immigration system — once a point of pride — is now fundamentally broken (by the Liberal’s own admission), sowing social tensions.

But beyond reports and paper statistics, if Olive had simply spoken to average Canadians, he’d have heard the truth: life is more expensive, paychecks don’t go as far, and people feel poorer, not wealthier.

Olive spins the Liberal’s deficit spending as visionary, highlighting investments in housing, pipelines, electric vehicles, and more. But all this spending achieved little beyond juicing inflation and doubling Canada’s federal debt.

Take housing: Trudeau’s government allocated billions, but housing starts have actually decreased. Or the Trans Mountain pipeline: once privately managed, its costs ballooned under federal ownership forced via Liberal policies that injected uncertainty into the natural resources industry. Meanwhile, the hallmark of billions poured into electric vehicle companies have been bankruptcies and indefinite project delays. Hundreds of millions went to a vaccine facility that hasn’t produced a single shot. They gave billions to a satellite internet company that hasn’t produced satellites or connected anyone to the internet.

Even social programs that Olive touted as successes haven’t delivered. Daycare operators are closing their doors, leaving parents scrambling for affordable options. Inflationary pressures have erased gains in poverty reduction, with more children living in poverty in 2022 than before.

But Olive is right about one thing: some Canadians are wealthier after nearly a decade of Trudeau. Unfortunately, they’re not average Canadian taxpayers. They’re the crony insiders, corrupt companies, and fraudsters who benefited from the government’s largesse at the expense of everyday Canadians. For the rest of us, Trudeau’s legacy is one of higher costs, greater debt, and diminished opportunity.

By publishing Olive’s absurd take, The Toronto Star isn’t just engaging in poor journalism — it’s enabling the Liberal government’s failed policies. The fairy tale that carbon taxes, inflationary deficit spending, and empty promises can fix Canada’s problems has brought the nation to the brink of crisis. The truth is grim and should be underscored: Canada now has a faltering economy, a weakened military, and a bare federal treasury. The Liberals haven’t made Canada wealthier; they’ve left us more vulnerable to internal and external threats.

If The Toronto Star wants to rebuild trust with readers, it needs to stop publishing delusional love letters to the Liberals. Canadians deserve honest, critical reporting — not spin that insults their intelligence. Olive’s column does a disservice to readers and only deepens the public’s mistrust in media.

As Canadians face rising costs, declining social cohesion, and mounting economic challenges, the last thing we need is more sugarcoated left-wing revisionist history.

What Canada needs is a clear-eyed reckoning with the policies that brought us here — and a plan to start fixing them.