Ottawa, ON – After nine years, the NDP-Liberal government has broken Canada. Since Justin Trudeau became Prime Minister in 2015, housing costs have doubled, groceries cost $700 more than they did in 2023, while crime and chaos have become rife in our once-safe towns and cities.
The extent of this damage has been made clear through the Toronto Foundation’s most recent report. According to this, approximately 2.7 million individuals in the Toronto Census Metropolitan Area report that they are struggling to get by in 2024 – up from just over 2 million just a year ago. This is reflected in the surging number of visitors to food banks. In Toronto, over 300,000 household members had to rely on food banks monthly just to survive, with September 2024 experiencing a 27 percent increase in usage compared to September 2023.
This is made worse by Canada’s growing unemployment rate. In Toronto alone, the unemployment rate averaged 8.4 percent in 2024, up from 6.4 percent in 2023. Quite simply, Justin Trudeau is failing to create enough jobs for Canada’s rapidly growing population. Youth unemployment is even more severe, with this figure rising to 19.8 percent in July from 13.2 percent in January.
As a result of Trudeau’s economic vandalism, the Toronto Star reported that business insolvencies had increased by 16.2 percent nationally and by more than 40 percent in Ontario over the last year. On top of this, 34,588 people across Canada filed for insolvency in the third quarter, which is an increase of 13.5 percent over the same period a year ago.
Meanwhile, Trudeau’s inability to build enough homes for Canadians has resulted in housing costs doubling since he took office. In Toronto, one-bedroom condo rentals increased by nearly 50 percent over eight years, reaching $2,399 in October 2023, up from $1,638 in 2015.
These skyrocketing housing costs have directly contributed to a surge in the number of homeless encampments, with over 200 tents being reported in encampments across 72 parks in March 2024. A year earlier, there were only 82 tents across 24 parks in the city.
Toronto is also experiencing crime, chaos, death and disorder. Major crime levels increased in 2022 and 2023, driven largely by a surge in auto thefts. But even excluding auto theft, major crimes were 15 percent higher in 2023 than in 2014, after adjusting for population growth. Across Canada, violent crime has increased by 50 percent since Trudeau became Prime Minister.
Enough is enough. Only Common Sense Conservatives will turn the hurt Trudeau has caused into the hope that Canadians need.