{"id":225380,"date":"2025-01-27T15:01:45","date_gmt":"2025-01-27T15:01:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2025\/01\/27\/rising-prices-dashed-trudeaus-promise-to-canadas-middle-class\/"},"modified":"2025-01-27T15:01:45","modified_gmt":"2025-01-27T15:01:45","slug":"rising-prices-dashed-trudeaus-promise-to-canadas-middle-class","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2025\/01\/27\/rising-prices-dashed-trudeaus-promise-to-canadas-middle-class\/","title":{"rendered":"Rising Prices Dashed Trudeau\u2019s Promise to Canada\u2019s Middle Class"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align:center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/01\/13\/multimedia\/00canada-economy-mjbw\/00canada-economy-mjbw-facebookJumbo.jpg?ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"Rising Prices Dashed Trudeau\u2019s Promise to Canada\u2019s Middle Class\" title=\"Rising Prices Dashed Trudeau\u2019s Promise to Canada\u2019s Middle Class\" \/><\/div><p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-0\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">When Justin Trudeau became Canada\u2019s prime minister in 2015, his relentless promise to improve life for the middle class resonated so strongly with Shivaan Burke that she went to work for the local Liberal member of Parliament, who was elected along with Mr. Trudeau.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But a decade later, as Mr. Trudeau prepares to leave office amid deep voter discontent, Ms. Burke said little of what he pledged has made its way into her family\u2019s daily life in Peterborough, Ontario, a onetime factory town about 80 miles northwest of Toronto.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Like many Canadians, Ms. Burke has become painfully aware of how much of her budget is now consumed by trying to fill her grocery cart.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">And while Peterborough used to be one place people in Toronto came to escape high real estate prices, housing costs have soared there in recent years, just as they have in many parts of the country.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-1\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Ms. Burke, a contract worker for the local government, is among the many middle class Canadians who helped propel Mr. Trudeau to power, but who have grown increasingly frustrated by a persistently high cost of living and incomes that have failed to keep up.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The latest version of a regular survey for the The Royal Bank of Canada, the country\u2019s largest financial institution, found that 55 percent of respondents \u201cfeel financially paralyzed due to rising costs.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">With national elections expected as soon as the spring, Mr. Trudeau\u2019s Liberal Party is trailing the Conservative Party by at least 20 percentage points, according to recent polls. Pierre Poilievre, the Conservative leader, has relentlessly attacked Mr. Trudeau on inflation, referring to it as \u201cJustinflation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The gains for the Conservatives have come in communities like Peterborough that once backed Mr. Trudeau but have now turned against him because of economic worries.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The result has been a precipitous fall for Mr. Trudeau, who announced this month that he would resign as Liberal Party leader and prime minister after his party selects his successor on March 9.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-2\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">About a year after he took power, <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2016\/09\/15\/world\/canada\/justin-trudeau.html\" title=\"\">73 percent of Canadians<\/a> approved of his leadership, an exceptionally high figure for any Canadian politician. A survey taken this month shortly after Mr. Trudeau said he was on his way out found that only <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/abacusdata.ca\/canadian-politics-abacus-data-post-trudeau-resignation\/\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">19 percent<\/a> of respondents viewed him favorably.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Peterborough was once <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2018\/01\/21\/world\/canada\/peterborough-nafta-manufacturing.html\" title=\"\">known as the \u201cElectric City\u201d<\/a> for its massive General Electric factory complex, which was largely shuttered in 2018 after 126 years of operation. Concerns about the cost of food and housing often dominate conversations both here and in the rest of Canada.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-3\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">During a visit to Peterborough in 2017, Mr. Trudeau told a town hall that \u201cthe government should be helping you, not harming you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But during his tenure, many Canadians have only felt more pain financially.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Since Mr. Trudeau took office in 2015, average house prices have soared by 56 percent, with higher increases in larger cities like Toronto and Vancouver, with rippling effects in their surrounding suburbs. Homes in Peterborough surged by 132 percent since 2015.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-4\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">One annual estimate compiled by food researchers and economists at four universities calculated that last year, a <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dal.ca\/sites\/agri-food\/research\/canada-s-food-price-report-2024.html\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Canadian family of four<\/a> spent 16,300 Canadian dollars, about $11,300, on groceries. That\u2019s about 29 percent more than before Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, which set off price hikes worldwide.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cThe groceries are just crazy, crazy \u2014 but I just accept it,\u201d Alex Bierk, <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.generalhardware.ca\/alex-bierk-1\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">an artist<\/a> and Peterborough City Council member, said at his studio in a downtown office building. \u201cI feel powerless over it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">He used to buy bags of pine nuts at Costco for about 10 Canadian dollars. \u201cNow I see them and it\u2019s a smaller version of the same bag and it\u2019s something like 30 bucks.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Incomes have not kept pace. Between 2016 and 2022, according to the most recent <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www150.statcan.gc.ca\/t1\/tbl1\/en\/tv.action?pid=1110023901&amp;pickMembers%5B0%5D=1.1&amp;pickMembers%5B1%5D=2.1&amp;pickMembers%5B2%5D=3.1&amp;pickMembers%5B3%5D=4.1&amp;cubeTimeFrame.startYear=2016&amp;cubeTimeFrame.endYear=2022&amp;referencePeriods=20160101%2C20220101\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">data<\/a> available, average individual incomes in Canada rose only by 8 percent, to 57,100 Canadian dollars. That has also led to labor strife, including the shutdowns of Canada\u2019s two major railways and the post office.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Ms. Burke said she was disappointed by Mr. Trudeau\u2019s response to the struggles of the middle class.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cI am not sure how anybody, particularly any politician, can avoid drawing a line between the increase in the price of groceries and the increase in the profits being held by grocers,\u201d she said. \u201cWe are seeing an increase in wealth disparity between the richest, most powerful people in this country and the rest of us.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-5\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">That sentiment was reflected in conversations in Peterborough, a city of about 130,000, that is frequently used to test new products because marketing research companies believe residents\u2019 shopping habits reflect those of Canadian consumers in general.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">On the south side of Peterborough, an area dominated by modest bungalows built for factory workers, Dan Twomey, 60, said he despairs about the rents his three daughters pay and their chances of ever becoming homeowners.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-6\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Twomey, who works for a fireplace store, said he and his wife bought their modest, three-bedroom house 25 years ago for 125,000 Canadian dollars. Before interest rates rose, cooling the market, he said he was offered about 750,000 dollars for it.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cThis house isn\u2019t worth that,\u201d he said. Besides, to stay in Peterborough, he\u2019d likely need to spend the same amount for a new, possibly smaller home.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-7\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">While low interest rates and the pandemic, he said, contributed to the rise in house prices, Mr. Twomey also said that he believes Mr. Trudeau\u2019s expansion of immigration \u2014 <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/10\/12\/world\/canada\/canada-immigration-policy.html\" title=\"\">which saw more than 2 million migrants arrive in two years<\/a> and which the prime minister now acknowledges went too far \u2014 was a major factor.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cWe need immigration, we\u2019re a pretty small country,\u201d he said. \u201cBut we didn\u2019t need that level of it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">While the Trudeau government has managed to drive inflation down to about 2 percent from a high of 8 percent in 2022, food prices remain high.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">And Canada\u2019s economic situation could soon worsen significantly. President Trump said he plans to impose 25 percent tariffs on exports from Canada on Feb. 1. Such a blanket move could ravage Canada\u2019s economy, lead to hundreds of thousands of job losses and push prices even higher as companies pass on the costs to customers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-8\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Bierk, the Peterborough city councilor, said he was particularly frustrated by another manifestation of the country\u2019s housing crisis \u2014 the growing number of homeless people, particularly those living in tent encampments.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-9\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Bierk worked with the city\u2019s social housing agency to replace a tent camp downtown with 50 small modular houses placed around common washroom and eating areas and staffed with support workers. But funds for another 16 units, which must come through the provincial government, remain in limbo.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cThe government,\u2019\u2019 he said, needed to make subsidized housing a priority \u201cbecause every city in the country has an issue with encampments. And the problem just keeps getting worse as people get pushed into homelessness from the high cost of living.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Jim Reedyk, the owner of Chumleighs, a used DVD, video game, CD and record shop on Peterborough\u2019s main street, said that rising food prices had prompted him to scour grocery store ads for bargains for the first time in his life. He has also taken to offering local university students who come into the shop tips about cheaper grocery options, like discount stores.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-10\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">He was once enthusiastic about Mr. Trudeau and what he might do for the country, but said he now feels disillusioned by his performance.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cI\u2019m not saying he didn\u2019t work hard and wasn\u2019t dedicated to the people for many years,\u201d Mr. Reedyk said. \u201cI voted for the Liberals each time.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But government policies, he added, are no longer working to help enough Canadians. \u201cIt was time for him to go,\u201d Mr. Reedyk said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/01\/27\/world\/canada\/trudeau-canada-inflation-prices-peterborough.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When Justin Trudeau became Canada\u2019s prime minister in 2015, his relentless promise to improve life for the middle class resonated so strongly with Shivaan Burke that she went to work for the local Liberal member of Parliament, who was elected along with Mr. Trudeau. But a decade later, as Mr. Trudeau prepares to leave office [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":225381,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/01\/13\/multimedia\/00canada-economy-mjbw\/00canada-economy-mjbw-facebookJumbo.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[740,6379,10943,165075,109007,170285,1720,7402,8510,165074,862,176954,2364,170284,5316,176953,988,17035,41228],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/225380"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=225380"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/225380\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":225382,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/225380\/revisions\/225382"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/225381"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=225380"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=225380"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=225380"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}