Canada (And the U.S.) Struggle to See the Big Picture || Bonus Video

Canada definitely saw an excessive influx of immigrants. I hear no end to that complaint when I visit. I wonder if the real problem with immigration (in Canada and the US) is the basis to approve it. I might be wrong on this, but I thought one of the primary considerations was existing family in the country. I've always figured that consideration should be given to usefulness to the country. Not necessarily post secondary education. But who can be easily trained to fill the types of jobs available in the country. Down here in the Phoenix area we constantly here about a shortage of skilled construction workers. I'm sure other parts of the US and Canada are the same. As one of the baby boomers (just barely) who compounded the demographic decline by avoiding the whole procreation thing, I'm ok with immigration if there is a quantifiable benefit to the country. Someone has to pay for my social security. 🤣

Canada recently allowed the children of new foreign citizens to obtain a Canadian passport.

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"Now, Canada is trying to fix those problems..." You've been fooled. A Canadian government announcement that it is going to fix something is usually all that happens. Unless they announce a huge budget to fix a problem. Then the money disappears but the problem isn't fixed.

Canada too has a corporate ownership of government problem much like it is here in the USA. The main reason our Congress is so weak is that they are long owned and dictated by big business. Look how easily they fold to self preservation, at the expense of being a traitor...

Peter this uses the same model of infinite growth you’ve said we need to rethink and redesign given global demographic patterns. We’ve all discussed the enlightenment and labor power rising after the Black Death. So good things can follow demographic decline. But it would seem saying Canada, the EU, or the US will decline or fail as a result of a smaller population needs to be considered through a new lens. I can appreciate the challenge of paying for the baby boomers through their last years, but it may well be our reflexive doom loop that prevents us from achieving what the people of the 1700’s did.

Hi, Has any one done the numbers on when the Chinese economy starts running out of oil now that volumes from Iran and Russia are restricted. I guess that one of the reasons they have a military is to protect their oil supply. Japan used theirs to move to a "positive diplomatic stance" when oil was embargoed by USA and they had a go at Pearl Harbor. cheers.

Priceless insight into the economic engines that are our universities!

Re: Canada or anywhere for that matter (US, Germany, UK, etc.). I have never understood why nations subsidize the education of foreign students who after receiving an excellent education return home. What is in it for the country that educates them?

This was a really good look at Canada's demographics - thank you. I was surprised that the security overlay was absent from the discussion as it's had an obvious impact on the relationship. Also, the economic relationship has developed significantly over the past year. Canada's exports to the US fell to C$44bn (USD$32bn) in December, down from C$53bn in the same month of 2024. However, Canada's exports to non-US countries hit a record C$21bn in December, up 30pc from the same month of 2024. Carney has visited over 20 countries for trade talks, so there is more change to come. Diversification is healthy for their economy. I don't see USMCA being finalized by the July 1 expiry. I do hope that the negotiation teams can form an arrangement that benefits the prosperity of both sides. And importantly, is lasting and stuck to.

Wrong name: it's Commuda.

The Fiberals have run Canada into the ground, starting with the first Trudeau.

There is something about that “tin pot dictator in a banana republic” that resonates - I just can’t quite put my finger on it… 🤔

This idea that we need an ever larger number of immigrants to cover for an always decreasing birthrate is madness. Pure madness. Maybe the two are related in a death spiral?

Vietnam? Mexico? There are options I guess

How bad does the economy need to get in Canada, before there is a meaningful political movement in Alberta to become to leave and become an US state? Right now US statehood seekers are very few in numbers. But never say never, in Germany they said AfD could never win votes outside the East, right now they are the leading party on the polls.

What was not said was that a high percentage of foreign students were intentionally using Canada as a jumping off point to eventually work in the USA.

Problem was the “students” where not in fact students. Small strip mall colleges brought in thousands and they wouldn’t attend any courses. Trudeau opened up how many hours they could work as foreigners attending school and they just work to send money home displacing typically young Canadians first jobs and suppressing the wages. This also effected housing, you often saw news stories about 20 TFW or Students jammed in a 4 bedroom home.

I'm afraid we in the US are more and more living in a "Tin pot dictator's banana republic" and can't seem to see it well enough to use the tools at hand to toss him. Frogs know enough to jump out of the beaker. Congressional Republicans are gritting their teeth and cooing about how wonderful the Trump hot tub is.

Some great points Peter however there has been some "Leering Centre" style scams here in Canada where essentially fake schools have been helping at great cost foreign "students" get student visas. Promising a pathway to permanent immigration many of these individual "students" pay exorbitant rates for this service and not only don't get any sort of education but also will eventually have expired visas and face deportation or other legal consequences. So yes at a thousand meter view it looks like reducing student visas is pulling our own rug out but at closer inspection the gov is taking action to ensure real students get a real education and a real pathway. Sorry, eh.

Thank you for this, but when it comes to your assessment of immigration, your analysis needs a better understanding of what is really happening. Canada is not "getting rid of young students" nor is it reducing the number of new PRs every year, despite what the public information says. We currently have a huge glut of Temporary Residents (TRs) but we will not hunt them down - we will turn them into PRs. The target for PRs this year is 380,000, down from 385.000 in 2025 and under the original 500,000 planned back in 2023. BUT! There are also an additional 145,000 PRs to be issued over the next two years under "special circumstances" and that number can go much higher. "Special circumstance" = TRs already in Canada who we cannot deport ICE style because - well we are Canadians! As for young students, the current economic steam (65% of the total) is very heavily weighted in favour of those 18 - 30. But rather than selecting from those with Canadian work or education experience, the Express Entry system will give equal preference for anyone educated outside of Canada and with work experience gained outside of Canada. We already have the highest % of university grad in the world, which really means we have too many, so the gov't just announced a massive program to train skilled workers for our resource industry, rather than English majors or lawyers. A few other points yo can comment on - average retirement age is not up over 67 for most and 69 for self employed, and 16% go baby boomers are working 10 years after 65. Since so many of the new PRs over the next few years are in Canada already, our population will hold steady at about 41 million, rents and house prices have collapsed, so immigration will be seen more positively again. Of course CUSMA/USMCA or Iran are still major factors, but immigration policy will not be a negative.

Thanks Peter

snow?

Affordability crises in housing is an issue for the G7 so, it’s not really a Canada issue. As I see it this is related to a shift from the investment class toward purchasing residential real estate as an investment tool vs. other asset classes.

Poor Canada, imagine living as a dominion of Britain and then becoming essentially an American vessel and now the third most important party of a trilateral agreement between the US, Mexico and Canada

Thanks for the oopsie videos Peter :)

Canadians would always say racist stuff when I’d play call of duty with them. From what I understand, they blame expensive housing on the immigrants. Not sure how true that is though.