Canada, land of hockey, healthcare, and home prices that would make even a Saudi oil baron sweat. We’ve got glaciers, gold, and more good intentions than a yoga retreat. But somehow, we’ve gone from “strong and free” to “stuck and frustrated.” Productivity’s in the basement, entrepreneurship’s on life support, and if you’re under 40 and dream of owning a home? That’s cute. Really.
We’ve become the polite dystopia. A place where it’s easier to spot a bear than a new business, where red tape is thicker than maple syrup, and where wages haven’t kept up with the cost of living since Bryan Adams was topping the charts.
But here’s the thing: Canada still has the raw material — the land, the resources, the people — to be a top-tier economy, a haven for builders and dreamers. We just need to stop pretending we’re fine and get serious about change.
Here are seven big (but doable) fixes to turn this glorious tundra into a productivity powerhouse again.
1. Make Housing Affordable Without Burning the Economy Down
Let’s get the beaver in the room out of the way: housing. Right now, the average home in Toronto costs 14 times the median income. In the 1990s? Try 3 to 4 times. You could work, save, and actually buy something. Now? You’re more likely to buy a $7 oat milk latte and cry on the curb.
The Fix:
Borrow from Sweden and Singapore. Tax vacant homes and land more aggressively, especially in urban centers. Use that money to build modular, public-private housing developments on underutilized federal land. Remove zoning barriers in cities to allow multi-family dwellings (duplexes, fourplexes, etc.) on more lots.
Oh, and this: if you’ve paid rent faithfully for 24 months, you should automatically qualify for a mortgage equal to or less than that rent. No more rigged gatekeeping by banks pretending to be fortresses of financial virtue.
2. Simplify the Tax Code (Seriously, Just Do It)
Canada’s tax system is a Kafkaesque labyrinth. Filing taxes is like trying to escape a corn maze with a broken compass. You need software, a book, and a prayer. That’s not economic productivity. That’s administrative masochism.
The Fix:
Take a cue from Estonia (yes, Estonia), where most citizens file taxes in under 5 minutes. One page. One portal. Flat income brackets. Treat all income the same — capital gains, dividends, and salary. No more loopholes where wealthy folks pay less tax on passive income than nurses pay on their salary.
3. Unleash Natural Resources. Responsibly
We sit on the second-largest proven oil reserves in the world, enough lithium to make Elon Musk cry, and forests that would make the Amazon jealous. Yet we act like touching any of it is a sin.
The Fix:
Drill smarter. Mine cleaner. Set strict environmental and Indigenous partnership standards, then get out of the damn way. Australia pulls in billions from its mining sector — and has strong labor protections, too. Use the royalties to build infrastructure, housing, and renewable power. You don’t have to pick between oil and the planet. You just need spine and strategy.
4. Ditch the Productivity Death-Trap of Bureaucracy
Starting a business in Canada feels like applying for citizenship on Mars. Permits, licensing, inspections, bylaws, more permits — all before you’ve made your first dollar. The average Canadian entrepreneur burns out before burning through their first round of funding.
The Fix:
Model after New Zealand: one-stop business registration portals with same-day approval for most business types. Auto-register new business tax accounts. Slash municipal overregulation. Want to open a coffee shop? You shouldn’t need six months, three lawyers, and an exorcist.
5. Rebuild the Middle Class Through Regional Renaissance
Right now, it’s Big City or Bust. Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal — clogged, costly, crumbling. Meanwhile, small towns from Timmins to Tofino are hemorrhaging young talent, doctors, and dreamers.
The Fix:
Give newcomers and remote workers tax credits to settle in small towns. Offer wage subsidies for companies that decentralize their operations outside major metros. Build tech hubs in places like Saskatoon and Windsor — it’s worked in Estonia, Ireland, and parts of Kenya. If broadband is good and the cost of living is low, the people will come.
6. Reward Savers, Not Just Speculators
We’ve become a nation of leveraged gamblers. Housing has become Canada’s unofficial retirement plan. Actual savings? Forget it. If you squirrel away money in a TFSA, the system gives you a polite nod. But flip a condo? You’re a genius.
The Fix:
Index capital gains tax to inflation — but apply it fairly across all assets. No more treating stock traders better than savers. Cap tax-free home equity at $1.5M, and reinvest gains into an enhanced RRSP match program for middle-income earners. Encourage ownership of productive assets, not just appreciating ones.
Also: Let banks offer special mortgage terms to those with high savings rates and low consumer debt — behavior-based lending, like in Japan.
7. Treat Immigration as Economic Strategy, Not Bureaucratic Ritual
We invite the best and brightest — doctors, engineers, and entrepreneurs — only to force them into Uber driving while we “review credentials.” It’s madness. A kind, multicultural madness, but madness nonetheless.
The Fix:
Do what Germany and Australia do: match immigrants with employers before arrival. Pre-certify qualifications. Offer fast-track residency to investors who put money into Canadian startups, not just luxury condos.
And here’s a wild idea: if you immigrate to Canada and start a successful business that employs 5+ Canadians within 3 years, you get permanent residency — no questions asked. That’s how Singapore and Dubai built business empires with barely a natural resource to their name.
Final Thought: From Ice to Fire
Canada is a beautiful, broken promise. A country full of people who believe in fairness, grit, and possibility. We are the land of “sorry,” yes — but also the land of Sudbury nickel, Saskatchewan wheat, and Tofino surf.
We can’t fund the future with slogans. Nor can we afford to keep punishing our most productive people while rewarding hoarders and speculators.
It’s time to make Canada a country where hard work and smart choices matter again. Where saving makes sense. Where young families don’t feel like strangers in their own cities. Where business owners aren’t laughed out of the bank for having vision.
Fix the housing. Cut the red tape. Tap the land. Unshackle the talent. Simplify the taxes. Reward the savers. Revive the regions.
We don’t need to become the 51st state. We just need to stop pretending the status quo is working.
Josh Nash 
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