Canada WAS a wealthy country. Now, Canada is a country that has wealthy people that reside in it.
My mother, from Switzerland and my father, from Hong-Kong (mix of Korean/Chinese), found Canada as a perfect mid-point for international business to link Asia with the US and also Europe.
They also knew they were going to have children and felt very comfortable about the future of safety and security in a place such as Vancouver.
At that time, there was a booming middle class and there were a lot of jobs for almost everyone. Unions, trades, professionals, and a good life was a very real thing. Opening up a business was very easy and with some grit and hard work, one could carve out a very good living.
Towards the end of the century, Vancouver seemed to change into a haven for the proceeds of a lot of questionable international funds but this is just the tip of the iceberg.
PRC has had insanely explosive growth, creating more multimillionaires than there are people in the entire Canadian population.
Places like UBC, are for profit businesses first, educators second. The errections they get seeing how much they can charge foreigners for tuition encourages the satalitte family. Father works in China running a factory making a few million a year or more, children go to Canada and learn the international language of business, English. The wife and child have a comfortable, clean, safe life and free everything.
Less fortunate but willing immigrants will put 10 family members in a home, work lesser desired but needed jobs, and live a better life.
None of these things are inherently bad things but when things go sour, humans want to find something to point at.
Blame India, blame Hong Kong, blame China, blame the criminals, blame two income households, blame Bitcoin, blame low interest rates. Blame the natives, blame government
My parents, who sadly passed away far too young, told me that a child complains, an adult does something about it.
Do things suck here? It depends. It’s absolutely not the place our parents came to a generation ago and we also don’t live the same life or want the exact same things. The world is also a very different place today compared with 1950.
I remember my family putting me in Japanese lessons at 3 years old because Japan was about to be worlds biggest economy. A lot has changed since 1990.
Coming to Canada still has a lot of appeal when compared with living in most other countries. People come here for a reason, rich or poor.
The future of Canada is not a bright one. We have spent ourselves into oblivion and we have a very corrupt government. We also have a generation of people that are either blind or unaware of how the world really works. It’s much more cool to be “woke”.
Its the end of an era. I’m also accepting of it. It’s scary for many but we will find a way to survive. Just because Canada as a country will likely change and the world will drastically change, it doesn’t mean we don’t have the opportunity to find success or have a great life.
In many ways I think we all have some of the best opportunities to create success but it will look different from the nuclear family model that became the staple of success post WW2.
I do feel for a lot of people. The US is much the same way. I remember it being so prosperous in the 1990s for so many people. I now have a home in one of the more prestigious neighborhoods in Los Angeles and while the property itself is exquisite, the neighborhood shows how bad things have become for the masses.
