“Something Fundamental Has Shifted in Canada”
Ottawa, ON – After 11 years of Carney’s Liberals, life has become completely unaffordable in Canada. Now, with Carney leading the only G7 country in a recession, Food Banks Canada released their latest Poverty Report Card, warning that “something fundamental has shifted in Canada” after finding one-quarter of Canadians are food insecure.
That’s one in four Canadians not getting access to the food they need, as prices at the grocery store have been double benchmark inflation over the last year. The inability to afford basic food has pushed more and more people to food banks, who have seen visits double since 2020.
One in five of those now visiting food banks are employed, with the report noting that “a job is no longer enough to ensure a reliable pathway to stability.” Not only are incomes not keeping up with the cost of living, but there are now three unemployed Canadians for every job vacancy, with unemployment rising to over 6 per cent.
Outside of housing, Canadians are now spending 56 per cent of their income on fixed costs such as transport, groceries and utilities. When housing is included, lower-income households are now spending more than 100 per cent of their income on the essentials of life.
This year, 42 per cent are spending more than 30 per cent – the CMHC’s benchmark for housing affordability – on a place to live. That’s up from 36 per cent three years ago with the report finding that housing prices “have not come down – instead stabilizing at a deeply unaffordable level.”
Food Banks Canada’s report follows the CEO of the Daily Bread Food Bank’s testimony at Parliament that one-tenth of Greater Toronto Area residents now eat at a food bank. In 2025, his food banks saw a record 4.1 million visits, a 340 per cent increase from 2019.
This is what a recession looks like: families with empty stomachs, grocery baskets and bank accounts. Mark Carney claims his recession is just ‘technical,’ but there’s nothing technical about a quarter of Canadians being unable to stock their fridges and cupboards.
Canadians deserve a plan to reverse all the Liberals’ economic policies that have delivered the only G7 country in recession. Conservatives will end inflationary deficits, repeal anti-development laws and scrap red tape to unleash our economy and make Canada affordable at home again.