One of the countries with high quality of life, good natural environment, high quality of residents and the easiest to immigrate... The merits of Canada that we have heard about before are too numerous to count. However, these indicators alone may not be a big deal, in fact, Canada is not very good among the developed countries, and even ranks first in many aspects.
Today, let's pour cold water on Canada's shortcomings. Although I don't want to admit it, Canada does have a lot to fall for. Whether she can be made better or not, perhaps the first step is to recognize reality.
In an article published by the National Post, Canada is "penultimate" in several areas in the developed world.
Image source: National Post
The most unaffordable housing
The OECD, which is made up of the world's 38 most developed countries, ranks housing affordability by comparing average house prices and average incomes, and according to their latest quarterly rankings, Canada "topped the list" – wages are the least commensurate with housing costs and the lowest housing affordability in 38 countries.
Source: World OECD
The two largest bubbles in the world are in Canada
For nearly 15 years, Canada has been a regular on the "overheated real estate market" ranking. In the 2021 UBS Rankings of the World Real Estate Market "Bubble Index", Toronto is the second highest risk, behind Frankfurt, while Vancouver ranks sixth. Canada is the only country other than Germany with two cities in the top ten.
Image source: UBS
The debt burden is the highest
The pandemic has led to the most frenzied accumulation of global debt, and in this international debt storm, Canada has more debt than any other country. Last year, Bloomberg analysts tracked the ratio of public and private debt accumulated in each country during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, and Canada's overall debt burden is equivalent to 352% of GDP! While a few countries (Japan, France, etc.) have higher overall debt burdens during the pandemic, Canada has outpaced all countries in terms of the rate of debt accumulation.
Source: Bloomberg
Emergency room beds are minimal
Canada's health system has long been criticized, especially after the onslaught of COVID-19, and many hospitals are on the verge of collapse. During the pandemic, Canadian provinces have been repeatedly forced to close because of too many patients, and this is rarely the case in other developed countries that are better prepared. A ranking by the Canadian Institute of Health Informatics illustrates why: Canada has the lowest rate of emergency care beds per capita when ranked against countries in the same class. Canada has only two emergency beds per 1,000 people, compared with 3.1 in France and 6 in Germany.
Image source: OECD
WIFI costs the most in the world
Every year, Finnish telecom analyst Rewheel ranks the most expensive wireless service countries in the world. Last year, Canada once again took the top spot. In comparison with multiple metrics, Canada is considered the most expensive place in the world for mobile data. Analysts have found that the average Canadian would cost at least 100 euros to get a mobile phone plan with 100G of mobile data, 10 times more than France or Ireland! In most parts of the European Union, the price of such a mobile phone plan is less than 40 euros.
Image source: Rewheel
The Port of Vancouver is one of the least efficient ports in the world
At the start of the global supply chain crisis last year, the World Bank decided to rank the performance of 370 major ports around the world. The authors weigh various factors, such as how long the port makes the ship wait, and the time it takes the crew to unload the ship. When all factors add up, the Port of Vancouver ranks 368th out of 370 ports, just above the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Nor is it ranked as well as Prince Rupert, Canada, ranking only 339 out of 370 ports. Canada's inefficiency is evident.
Image source: National Post
Toronto Pearson Airport has the highest delay rate in the world
The port is not strong and the airport is not much better. While airports around the world are feeling the pressure, Canada is definitely "not the worst, only worse". Last month, CNN used data from flightAware to calculate which airports had the highest flight delay rates, with Toronto Pearson Airport in first place. 52% of all flights departing from the airport experienced delays for various reasons; Frankfurt Airport, which ranks second, has only 45.4% of flight delays. Toronto Pearson Airport also has a high flight cancellation rate, with 6.9% of scheduled flights never departing, ranking fourth in the world.
Source: CNN
The ability to attract foreign investment is the second-to-last
A 2020 study by the University of Calgary tracked foreign investment flows to developed countries between 2015 and 2019. During this period, almost all of the countries on the list saw a surge in foreign cash, with Ireland topping the list for its foreign investment climbing by more than 115%. Only four of these countries saw a decline in foreign investment – Mexico, Brazil, Australia and Canada. A report by the Canadian Business Council noted the same trend, concluding that "Canada is the second worst country in the world OECD in terms of the degree of openness to foreign direct investment." ”
Image source: National Post
Cars consume the most fuel
In 2019, the International Energy Agency examined the fuel economy of private cars around the world. Among almost all measures, Canada ranks first when it comes to driving unnecessarily fuel-hungry vehicles. For every kilometre traveled, Canadians burn more fuel and emit more carbon dioxide than any other country. Canada's cars are also the largest and heaviest (after the United States). Although Canada is a sparsely populated and cold country with a lot of heavy industry, this ranking is also far beyond many other countries.
Image source: IEA
It is frustrating that so many of these aspects are ranked at the bottom of the list in developed countries. And every one of us living in Canada can also feel: more and more expensive house prices, higher and higher prices, more and more slow medical care, more and more expensive oil prices... The lives of ordinary residents are becoming more and more unaffordable, what exactly is causing all this? Can we attribute all the triggers to the pandemic? Can the problem be solved? Can such a Canada still be considered a developed country...