Dissatisfied with the direction of the country, record numbers of Canadians came out to vote.

由於對國家的發展方向感到不滿，參加投票的加拿大人創下了歷史新高。

The result?

結果呢？

Justin Trudeau is elected Prime Minister of Canada.

賈斯汀·杜魯道當選加拿大總理。

With a large crowd cheering his name, Trudeau had one simple message.

在一大群人的歡呼聲中，杜魯道傳達了一個簡單的資訊。

It's time for a change in this country, my friends.

朋友們，是時候改變這個國家了。

A real change.

真正的改變。

Canadians across the country were excited and energized.

全國各地的加拿大人都感到興奮和振奮。

They believed in a bright future for Canada.

他們相信加拿大會有一個光明的未來。

The government would build more homes, make life more affordable, and usher Canada into a golden age.

政府將建造更多的房屋，讓人們更能負擔得起生活，並將加拿大帶入黃金時代。

The Canadian dream.

也就是加拿大夢。

But fast forward to today, and that dream has faded.

但時至今日，這個夢想已經破滅。

Housing prices have increased at record rates.

房價以創紀錄的速度上漲。

Food banks are turning away hungry Canadians, and immigrants are leaving in record numbers.

食品銀行將飢餓的加拿大人拒之門外，移民離開的人數也創下了歷史新高。

The Canadian dream has become a nightmare.

加拿大夢已成為一場噩夢。

This is the dark side of Canada.

這集講述的是「加拿大的黑暗面」。

If you talk to real Canadians, more often than not, they will tell you how hopeless they feel about their future.

如果你與真正的加拿大人交談，他們往往會告訴你，他們對自己的未來感到多麼絕望。

They'll share how when growing up, they dreamed of a life raising a family in a comfortable home and in a safe neighborhood.

他們將分享自己在成長過程中如何夢想在舒適的家庭和安全的社區中養家餬口。

But with home prices soaring, this dream has become a fantasy.

但隨著房價飆升，這一夢想已成為幻想。

To buy the average home in Canada, a family needs to earn $170,000 per year.

在加拿大購買普通住宅，一個家庭的年收入需要 17 萬美元。

And in Vancouver, that number jumps dramatically to $360,000 per year.

而在溫哥華，這一數字急劇躍升至每年 36 萬美元。

Compare this to the median family income of $70,000, and it becomes clear that it is nearly impossible to buy a home in Canada.

與家庭收入中位數 7 萬美元相比，在加拿大買房幾乎是不可能的。

Most Canadians who don't own a home have given up and don't see it as remotely possible in their lifetime.

大多數沒有自己住房的加拿大人已經放棄了，他們認為在有生之年根本不可能擁有自己的住房。

The sad part about this?

最可悲的是什麼？

Canada's housing wasn't always this expensive.

加拿大的住房並不總是如此昂貴。

In fact, home ownership was possible for almost everyone, but in the last few decades, housing prices have increased so much faster than wages that it has forced citizens to abandon the hope of home ownership.

事實上，幾乎每個人都有可能擁有住房，但在過去幾十年裡，房價的增長速度遠遠超過了工資的增長速度，迫使公民放棄了擁有住房的希望。

Even if you can afford a home, you aren't getting very much.

即使你買得起房子，你也買不到大房子。

Take Vancouver for example.

以溫哥華為例。

The average home here is nearly $2 million, and it looks like this.

這裡的平均房屋價格接近 200 萬美元，看起來就像這樣。

Who wants to spend nearly $2 million on a small home like this when you can get a mansion in places like Austin for the same amount?

在奧斯汀等地，花同樣的錢就能買到豪宅，誰還願意花近 200 萬美元買這樣的小房子呢？

Now, not everyone wants to buy a home, and many are perfectly fine renting, but renting is just as hard as buying a home.

不是每個人都想買房，很多人完全可以接受租房，但租房和買房一樣難。

Due to years of underbuilding, nimbyism, population growth, and government red tape, the supply of rental units is far outweighed by demand.

由於多年來建設不足、鄰避主義、人口增長以及政府的繁文縟節，出租房的供應量遠遠超過了需求量。

Across Canada, rental vacancy sits at an all-time low of 1.5%.

加拿大全國的房屋空置率為 1.5%，創歷史新低。

This means people are fighting to find a place to live.

這意味著人們正在為尋找住處而奮鬥。

Each application for an apartment is met with hundreds of competing applications, and renters are left feeling hopeless.

每份公寓申請都會遇到成百上千份競爭申請，租房者感到毫無希望。

It's getting to the point where you can choose to keep a roof over your head, or you can choose to keep the lights on and eat, but you can't do both.

現在的情況已經到了這樣的地步：你可以選擇有地方住，也可以選擇餬口飯吃，但你無法同時做到這兩點。

The low levels of vacancy are leading to skyrocketing prices.

空置率低導致房價飛漲。

Landlords realize that renters have few options, and therefore they continue to raise rents to extract maximum value.

房東意識到租房者的選擇很少，所以他們不斷提高租金，以榨取最大價值。

Our landlord increased our rent by $7,000 per month.

我們的房東每月給我們漲了 7000 美元的房租。

The outcome?

結果呢？

Rents continue to rise uncontrollably and will do so for years to come.

房租繼續不受控制地上漲，而且在未來幾年都將如此。

For example, the average one-bedroom apartment in Toronto and Vancouver is nearly $3,000.

例如，多倫多和溫哥華一房間公寓的平均價格接近 3000 美元。

After taxes and rent, Canadians barely have enough money to make ends meet.

除去稅收和房租，加拿大人的生活費幾乎入不敷出。

People are skipping meals, taking up multiple jobs, living in their cars, and more.

人們不吃不喝，身兼數職，住在車裡，等等。

Debt has become an absolute necessity to make ends meet, and Canada now has the third highest household debt to GDP ratio on earth.

債務已成為維持生計的絕對必需品，加拿大目前的家庭債務與國內生產總值之比位居全球第三。

All of this is compounded by the inability of the government to help.

而政府的無能為力又加劇了這一切。

In fact, many would argue that the government is making life much harder for Canadians.

事實上，許多人認為政府正在讓加拿大人的生活變得更加艱難。

The problem with housing affordability is a combination of federal and local government policies and inaction.

住房可負擔性問題是聯邦和地方政府的政策和不作為共同造成的。

On a federal level, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has overseen the largest increase in Canadian real estate prices in history.

在聯邦層面，總理賈斯汀·杜魯道監督了加拿大房地產價格有史以來的最大漲幅。

Much of this is due to his immigration policy.

這在很大程度上是由於他的移民政策。

Since 2016, the government has admitted nearly 3 million immigrants into the country.

自 2016 年以來，政府已接納近 300 萬移民入境。

That is a record and 40% higher per year in the last few decades.

這是一個創紀錄的數字，在過去幾十年中每年增加 40%。

To make matters worse, there are over 1 million foreign students in the country.

更糟糕的是，該國有 100 多萬名外國學生。

By increasing the population so significantly in such a short period of time, the government has squeezed an already underbuilt housing market.

政府在如此短的時間內大幅增加人口，擠壓了本已建設不足的住房市場。

It is simple economics.

這是一個簡單的經濟問題。

Increasing demand without increasing supply causes prices to go up.

增加需求而不增加供應會導致價格上漲。

Furthermore, most immigrants are looking for entry-level homes and apartments, placing a disproportionate amount of pressure on average and young Canadians who are looking for a starter property.

此外，大多數移民都在尋找入門級住宅和公寓，這給正在尋找入門級房產的普通加拿大人和年輕加拿大人帶來了過大的壓力。

For example, many students at UBC can no longer find housing and now live in vans and parking lots to survive.

例如，UBC 大學的許多學生再也找不到住房，現在只能住在麵包車和停車場裡以維持生計。

I have to wait, I guess, like more than a year to get a housing on campus in UBC.

我想，我得等上一年多才能住進 UBC 的校內宿舍。

One student even flies from a different city because it's cheaper than rent.

一名學生甚至從不同的城市飛過來，因為這比房租便宜。

Rooming houses are also commonplace across the country, where landlords squeeze five students into one bedroom to maximize profits.

在全國各地，學生宿舍也很普遍，房東為了獲取最大利潤，會把五個學生擠在一間臥室裡。

Immigration isn't the only reason for rising prices though, and it's easy for folks to point the finger, but Canada has underinvested in housing for decades.

移民並不是房價上漲的唯一原因，人們很容易將矛頭指向移民，但幾十年來，加拿大在住房方面的投資一直不足。

In fact, CIBC estimates that Canada needs 5 million more homes by 2030 to achieve affordability targets.

事實上，加拿大帝國商業銀行（CIBC）估計，到 2030 年，加拿大需要增加 500 萬套住房，以實現可負擔性目標。

Developers agree this is impossible.

開發人員一致認為這是不可能的。

Of course, you can't flick the switch overnight to build homes, and in Canada, local governments have shown an unwillingness to invest in housing.

當然，建房不可能一蹴而就，在加拿大，地方政府也表現出不願意投資建房的態度。

For one, citizens who own homes are often against development as it would lower the value of their properties.

首先，擁有住房的市民往往反對開發，因為這會降低他們房產的價值。

Permit approvals are hard to get and NIMBYism challenges most large developments.

許可證很難獲得準許，而且大多數大型開發項目都會受到鄰避效應的挑戰。

Elected officials know this, and therefore don't push hard for housing to avoid losing an election.

民選官員知道這一點，所以不會為了避免競選失敗而大力推動住房建設。

Furthermore, each city and province levies a multitude of taxes that drive the cost and timeline for development.

此外，各省市徵收的稅種繁多，也會影響開發成本和時間安排。

In some cities, this can add over 20% to the cost of a home, and this cost is directly passed on to consumers by developers.

在一些城市，這可能會使住房成本增加 20% 以上，而開發商會將這一成本直接轉嫁給消費者。

A part of the reason taxes and red tape continue to increase is the government is growing faster than the population.

稅收和繁文縟節不斷增加的部分原因是政府的增長速度超過了人口的增長速度。

From 2020 to 2023, the BC government grew by 23%.

從 2020 年到 2023 年，英屬哥倫比亞省政府的財政收入增長了 23%。

Compare this to the private sector, which grew by only 1%.

相比之下，私營部門僅增長了 1%。

This explosive job growth requires more taxes.

這種爆炸性的就業增長需要更多的稅收。

A similar pattern can be seen in the federal government, which has added nearly $20 billion a year in costs since 2015.

聯邦政府也有類似的模式，自 2015 年以來，聯邦政府每年增加近 200 億美元的成本。

And the final nail in the coffin for housing affordability, foreign investment.

而住房可負擔性的最後一顆釘子，就是外國投資。

Canada is an extremely attractive and safe place to invest your money, but it also happens to be one of the easiest places in the OECD to launder money.

加拿大是一個極具吸引力和安全的投資地，但同時也是經合組織（OECD）中最容易洗錢的地方之一。

Another bombshell in the ongoing money laundering scandal in BC.

英屬哥倫比亞省持續不斷的洗錢醜聞再添重磅炸彈。

A report commissioned by the government agreed and concluded that significant amounts of black market money was buying and selling properties in Canada, especially Vancouver and Toronto.

政府委託編寫的一份報告對此表示同意，並得出結論認為，大量黑市資金正在加拿大，尤其是溫哥華和多倫多買賣房產。

But what has the government done to stop this?

但政府採取了什麼措施來阻止這種情況呢？

Nothing.

什麼都沒有。

Money laundering is just as easy as ever.

洗錢一如既往地容易。

Now housing is just one component of this nightmare.

現在，住房只是這場噩夢的一個組成部分。

What about everyday costs Canadians face?

加拿大人面臨的日常費用又是如何呢？

Canada saw food prices rise by over 10% since 2022, leading nearly 2 million Canadians to visit food banks in March of 2023, a record high and double the 2019 levels.

自 2022 年以來，加拿大食品價格上漲超過 10%，導致 2023 年 3 月近 200 萬加拿大人前往食品銀行，創下歷史新高，是 2019 年的兩倍。

One of the reasons Canadian food prices are so high is the lack of competition.

加拿大食品價格如此之高的原因之一是缺乏競爭。

But grocery chain profits are not the reason for food inflation.

但雜貨連鎖店的利潤並不是食品通脹的原因。

A handful of companies own nearly 80% market share.

少數幾家公司擁有近 80% 的市場份額。

The government has historically done nothing to prevent food industry consolidation, which has led to a highly concentrated market that is able to extract maximum profits.

政府在防止食品行業合併方面歷來無所作為，這導致市場高度集中，能夠攫取最大利潤。

The worst example of this is bread, which is dominated by only two players.

最糟糕的例子莫過於麵包，因為只有兩家廠商在麵包市場上占主導地位。

Not only this, but the government has assisted in increasing food prices in Canada by protecting the poultry, egg, and dairy industries.

不僅如此，政府還通過保護家禽、雞蛋和乳製品行業，幫助提高了加拿大的食品價格。

This alone costs the average Canadian family nearly $450 per year.

僅此一項，加拿大普通家庭每年就要花費近 450 加元。

That could be the difference between making rent or not.

這可能就是賺不賺房租的區別。

The federal plan puts a price on pollution that brings down emissions and it spurs innovation and the kind of investments in emissions reduction that we need,

聯邦計劃為汙染定價，從而減少排放，並刺激創新和我們所需的減排投資，

while at the same time putting more money in the pockets of Canadians.

同時將更多的錢放入加拿大人的口袋。

This story of government policies leading to higher prices is nothing new.

政府政策導致價格上漲的故事並不新鮮。

For example, the government introduced a carbon tax which makes the cost of gas and heating more expensive than ever.

例如，政府引入了碳稅，使得天然氣和暖氣的成本比以往任何時候都要高。

Canadians spend more on gas than any other G7 country by a long shot.

加拿大人在汽油上的花費遠遠超過七國集團中的任何其他國家。

The carbon tax has been met with significant pushback from citizens and politicians.

碳稅遭到了市民和政界人士的強烈反對。

In fact, Liberal MPs have spoken out against the carbon tax as the number of complaints from constituents has risen dramatically.

事實上，自由黨議員已經公開反對碳稅，因為選民的投訴數量急劇上升。

This came to a head in the Atlantic provinces when citizens could no longer bear the cost of the carbon tax given the use of expensive and very dirty fuel oil.

在大西洋沿岸省份，由於使用昂貴且非常骯髒的燃油，公民們再也無法承受碳稅的成本，於是這種情況出現了。

The Liberal government conceded and dropped the tax in an effort to not lose support.

為了不失去支持，自由黨政府讓步並放棄了徵稅。

Recently, the government has pushed the narrative that most citizens are better off in spite of carbon taxes due to rebates.

最近，政府一直在鼓吹，儘管徵收了碳稅，但由於有退稅，大多數公民的生活會更好。

However, the parliamentary budget officer clarified and said that citizens are worse off if you include the economic implications.

不過，議會預算官員澄清說，如果將經濟影響計算在內，公民的境況會更糟。

But this isn't just limited to carbon taxes.

但這不僅限於碳稅。

Canadians experience higher prices across multiple industries because of the government.

由於政府的原因，加拿大人在多個行業都經歷了價格上漲。

The most glaring example is telecommunications.

最明顯的例子就是電信。

Hey, here's a quick question.

嘿，我有個簡單的問題。

Are we paying too much for cell phone and internet bills here in Canada?

在加拿大，我們支付的手機和網絡費用是不是太貴了？

Absolutely.

沒錯。

The Canadian wireless market is the most expensive in the world, seven times more expensive than Australia and 1,000 times more expensive than Finland.

加拿大的無線網路市場是世界上最昂貴的，比澳洲貴 7 倍，比芬蘭貴 1000 倍。

The craziest part is that the fourth largest player, Shaw, was recently acquired by the largest player in the country, Rogers, and the government did nothing to stop it.

最瘋狂的是，第四大運營商 Shaw 最近被全國最大的運營商 Rogers 收購，而政府卻沒有采取任何措施加以阻止。

In most countries, such a deal would most likely be stopped or delayed, but in Canada, major corporations have extreme influence and often get away with these anti-competitive transactions.

在大多數國家，這樣的交易很可能會被阻止或延後，但在加拿大，大公司具有極大的影響力，它們往往能逃脫這些反競爭交易的懲罰。

Banking is similar.

銀行業也類似。

There is no competition, nor options for consumers.

沒有競爭，消費者也沒有選擇。

To start up a bank is nearly impossible in Canada due to tight regulatory controls that favour large entities.

在加拿大，由於有利於大型實體的嚴格監管，開辦銀行幾乎是不可能的。

This has led to Canadians paying some of the highest banking fees in the developed world.

這導致加拿大人支付了發達國家中最高的一些銀行費用。

It is estimated that Canadians pay $250 more per year on banking fees than peers in the UK and Australia.

據估計，加拿大人每年支付的銀行費用要比英國和澳洲的同行多 250 美元。

Why?

為什麼？

No competition.

沒有競爭。

Now, I could list a million more examples, but the conclusion is the same.

現在，我還可以列舉無數個例子，但結論是一樣的。

Canada is extremely expensive.

加拿大的物價非常昂貴。

One way to counter this is to grow the economy and introduce high paying jobs.

對策之一就是發展經濟，引進高薪工作崗位。

However, Canada has struggled to do this.

然而，加拿大在這方面卻舉步維艱。

Since 2019, Canada has seen a decline in economic productivity while the US has seen a 6% increase.

自 2019 年以來，加拿大的經濟生產率有所下降，而美國則增長了 6%。

This decline is partly responsible for stagnant wages in Canada and reduction in the quality of life.

這種下降是加拿大工資停滯不前和生活品質下降的部分原因。

One of the drivers for this decline is lack of private sector investment.

造成這種下降的原因之一是私營部門投資不足。

Canadian businesses are investing outside of Canada more than ever before, but why aren't companies investing in Canada?

加拿大企業在境外的投資比以往任何時候都多，但為什麼企業不在加拿大投資呢？

Simply put, they believe they can generate greater returns elsewhere, especially as they lose faith in the current Canadian regime, which is not seen as business friendly.

簡而言之，他們認為可以在其他地方獲得更大的回報，尤其是在他們對加拿大現行制度失去信心的時候，因為加拿大現行制度被認為對企業並不友好。

Another reason is lack of competition.

另一個原因是缺乏競爭。

Most major Canadian industries are controlled by a few key players.

加拿大的大多數主要產業都由少數幾個關鍵企業控制。

These players have no real incentive to invest, leading to reductions in productivity.

這些參與者沒有真正的投資動力，導致生產率下降。

The US has low levels of market concentration across industries, leading to constant reinvestment and innovation as companies continue to seek a competitive edge.

美國各行各業的市場集中度較低，所以企業在不斷尋求競爭優勢的同時，也在不斷進行再投資和創新。

Another reason is government intervention.

另一個原因是政府干預。

For example, Canada has seen a major decline in investment in the energy sector due to federal prices that penalize the industry.

例如，由於聯邦價格懲罰了能源行業，加拿大對能源行業的投資大幅下降。

Since 2014, energy investment has declined by nearly $60 billion dollars per year.

自 2014 年以來，能源投資每年減少近 600 億美元。

But one could argue that oil and gas is the past and Canada should focus on future-proofing its economy, which is absolutely fair.

但也有人會說，石油和天然氣已經成為過去，加拿大應該專注於未來經濟的發展，這絕對是公平的。

However, since 2016, GDP derived from technology companies has only grown with inflation, meaning it hasn't really grown at all.

然而，自 2016 年以來，科技公司帶來的 GDP 僅隨通貨膨脹而增長，這意味著它根本沒有真正增長。

All efforts by the government to incentivize industrial investment have failed, but this is not simply limited to large businesses and money outflow.

政府激勵工業投資的所有努力都失敗了，但這並不僅僅侷限於大型企業和資金外流。

Canada is seeing an exodus of startups and top talent like never before.

加拿大正出現前所未有的初創企業和頂尖人才外流現象。

Each year, 7% of Canadians go south of the border searching for opportunity.

每年都有 7% 的加拿大人前往邊境以南地區尋找機會。

And why wouldn't they?

為什麼不呢？

Jobs pay more, cost of living is lower, and the US is much more dynamic.

工作報酬更高，生活成本更低，美國也更有活力。

The loser in this scenario is not the government, but hard-working Canadians whose lives continue to become more difficult.

在這種情況下，輸家不是政府，而是辛勤工作的加拿大人，他們的生活繼續變得更加艱難。

As productivity continues to decline, the central bank will have less leeway to maintain lower interest rates, further challenging cost of living.

隨著生產率繼續下降，中央銀行維持較低利率的餘地將越來越小，從而進一步挑戰生活成本。

Overall, the outlook does not look great.

總體而言，前景並不樂觀。

Let's hope that something changes soon.

希望能儘快有所改變。

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訂閱《2&20》，獲取更多商業和經濟見解。