The state of public transport in Montreal makes me so angry. This city used to be an examplar of public transit.

We're the second largest nation in the world by landmass, but with a population that's only the size of California.

How do you not have a "car culture" in a nation like that? People need to get around, and transit can really only accommodate those in cities

I'm planning to move. I was born in Canada. I worked overseas for several years. I came back to Canada and I'm leaving again. Hopefully permanently. Better pay is definitely one aspect (although it'd take 10x increase to get me to move to the USA), but it's not the only one. Quality of life is another MAJOR point that Canadians miss out on in a big way. Yeah you get a bigger home... and a fancy big truck... but to get that, you work yourself to death, you pay insane prices for things, and you have to live with stroads...

It's especially bad when those same newspapers also write articles about how most millennials are living paycheck to paycheck, and a single unexpected $1000 expense is enough to bankrupt them.

I can't count on how many people I've seen who's become borderline alcoholics as they can't handle life between work and bills without a steady supply. I live and work in relatively better off parts of Toronto, yet I see dozens of people who are homeless or dealing with serious psychiatrics problems. Seeing someone begging on the streets or trains has become almost a daily occurrence despite it having been quite rare a decade ago. Not to mention all those who sleep on the trains and buses rather than trying to get anywhere.

We as a country have been steered the wrong way for a good decade now, and every measurement I've seen regarding the human life index, happiness, international reputation, etc, have all pointed that out. Canada isn't the bastion of freedom and equality that it used to be. Virtually all our leaders on every level have failed the population, including the opposition.

The only reason why Canada seems like a good option is because US is so fucked that it makes Canada look better.

As an immigrant, I can concur. What I thought Canada would be and what it turned out to be are very different things. I'm not happy with the financial stress nor with how my international experience is not taken into consideration when applying to jobs. I am an undesirable candidate. I was lucky enough to find a job that is somewhat similar to what I used to do but my partner is restarting his career just to make money. At the end of the day, we barely make ends meet because rent is so expensive. Just to get an apartment we had to go through hell because we have no credit score and we couldnt afford to pay 6-12 months in advance. I generally felt unwelcomed.

Meanwhile, Microsoft uses it’s Canadian offices as visa waiting rooms before shipping them off to the US.

Microsoft's game division includes Canadian studios like The Coalition and Compulsion Games. The latter literally relied on being acquired by Xbox in order to publish their 2nd (and 1st major) game, now they have grown from 40 to 80 since the game was published. Those studios are still located in where they were founded even after acquisition. In general, Microsoft has a hands-off approach with the studios, allowing them more freedom to develop games.

Sure, the game industry has its own problems and salary issues, which is something people in the industry are trying to improve, but at least the creative & technical talent stays here in Canada rather than being relocated, and many people can work in game studios for a few years before easily moving into other areas of software development.

Or maybe many immigrants feel lied to about how Canada was advertised to them versus the reality of the cost of living and stagnant wages.

I have some sympathy for that point if view, but it's not that simple.

Nobody, not even the most libertarian, wants to find themselves holding the shitty end of the stick, yet our political and economic systems are operating in ways that leave only the shitty end to hang on to.

We vote for improvement and get either the status quo or degradation.

We're told to vote with our wallets, but that just means bigger wallets get more votes. And if it looks like maybe the collective size of wallets is getting too big, corporations, aided and abetted by the political class, just arrange for fewer choices and smaller wallets.

Unsurprisingly, those with the will are starting to vote with their feet. People are starting to walk away from bad situations in search of better ones. Whether those better situations exist may be an open question, but they are not being any more selfish than those who insist on skimming the cream off for themselves.

It's actually an easy fix, if only the political class realized it. Tax every dollar sent out of the country at 90%. Tax every stock buyback at 90%. Tax every corporate cash reserve at 80%. Limit total compensation of each executive to 10 times that of their lowest paid employee. For essential goods and services, tax away any rise in profits beyond, say, 1% above inflation. No person or company is allowed to own more than 1 rental property with multifamily units treated as one property.

Take all that tax money and pour it into public health care, starting with free tuition to any health related education. Foreign students accessing this free education must practice in Canada for 5 years after graduation or be returning to work in public health initiatives. And fix the definition of health care so that it means what it says (dental, vision, hearing, mental, vaccines, and prescriptions are all health care that is uncovered or poorly covered).

Any money left over from that can be spent on actual environmental protection and remediation, starting with the climate crisis.

If any of that needs to be adjusted based on actual negative outcomes, then it will be adjusted, but the political class has to start by showing the general public that they mean business.

And if that sounds like I've got brain damage, that's fine. What we're doing is obviously not working out, so continuing the path we're on is also a sign of brain damage. At least I'm pointing out a different path.

These are astonishing numbers. Do you have a source for this?