Ottawa, ON – For weeks, Liberals have been denying that Carney has delivered the only G20 country in a recession and economic decline in three of the four quarters he has been Prime Minister. After promising to reverse 11 years of Liberal economic decline, it’s clear that under Carney, Canadians are still paying the price.
This morning, Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem reported that “the Canadian economy has remained soft and inflation has increased,” with food inflation remaining “high.” Macklem went on to “expect CPI inflation to hover close to 3% in coming months,” warning that “economic weakness combined with rising inflation is a dilemma for monetary policy” and “there may be a need for consecutive increases in the policy rate.”
The human cost of the Liberal recession was confirmed again today by United Way, whose President and CEO reports that “behind the data is people having to make difficult choices, losing sleep over bills, increased family stress, struggling to focus at work, or going without food.” He went on to note, “This is not a crisis on the horizon. It is happening now, in communities across the country.”
His comments came after United Way found the number of Canadians reporting being gripped by anxiety over their finances has also risen to 60 per cent – up five points since January. That’s as 38 per cent of Canadians now struggle with food insecurity, while over the last six months, 20 per cent report that all food in their home was eaten and they didn’t have the money to buy more.
With empty fridges and empty bank accounts, 40 per cent now report difficulty sleeping from financial stress and 34 per cent say they now have difficulty concentrating at school or work. Compared to just last year, the situation is actively getting worse.
46 per cent of Canadians say they can only cover a month of basic expenses before falling into debt if they lost their main source of income or faced an unexpected expense between $500 and $1,000 – an increase from 42 per cent in late 2025. Meanwhile, the number of respondents who know someone close to them who has experienced poverty has increased to 34 per cent – up five points in six months.
Another report this week found that one in four children in Toronto is growing up in poverty, with the yearly increase meaning 1,800 more children have fallen into poverty. Daily Bread Food Bank now reports that one-tenth of Torontonians rely on a food bank, and Food Banks Canada found that across Canada, children now make up one-third of all food bank clients.
Not only are Canadians struggling with the cost of food, 42 per cent of Canadians are spending more than 30 per cent of their income on a place to live. CTV News reports that the unaffordable cost of living has pushed some to live in carpool lots, with a reporter counting between 10 and 20 trailers in a single lot.
This is the human cost of Carney’s Liberal recession: families with empty stomachs, sleepless nights worrying about whether there’s enough money to scrape by, and Canadians forced to live in parking lot trailers. It’s time to reverse course because Canadians deserve a country that is affordable at home, strong at home and growing at home.