This article supplied by Troy Media.

By Perry Kinkaide

From regional resentment to rising crime, Canada is quietly breaking down. Pretending everything is fine won’t fix what’s broken

Canada is coming apart—not with a bang, but with a shrug. The signs are everywhere: sluggish growth, rising crime, fractured provinces and governments too paralyzed to act.

What used to be one of the world’s most stable democracies now feels adrift. Regional tensions are rising, and the country’s ability to respond is
weakening. Too many of our leaders are dodging responsibility instead of fixing what’s broken.

While the collapse isn’t imminent, the decline is real —and speeding up.

Can Canada be saved? The answer to that question starts with the economy.

Canada’s economy is stalling

According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the International Monetary Fund, Canada’s gross domestic product per capita grew just 2.3 per cent between 2015 and 2023. In the U.S., it grew by 8.5 per cent. Labour productivity has dropped for six straight quarters. Business investment per worker is now 50 per cent lower than south of the border.

This isn’t just a rough patch. It’s a warning. If the economy stalls, everything else—health care, education, infrastructure—slows down too.

Despite the 2017 Canadian Free Trade Agreement, provinces still block or restrict the flow of goods, services and workers. A Senate report estimated these barriers cost the economy up to $130 billion a year, or about $3,000 per person.

The list is long: different building codes, licensing rules, trucking limits, even alcohol sales.

Canada’s supply management system—covering dairy, poultry and eggs—keeps prices high and locks new farmers out of the market. It’s a system from another era, and we’ve refused to confront it.

Regional resentment is growing

Just as the economy is divided by protectionism, Canada’s federation is divided by frustration. Economic pain isn’t evenly spread. It’s concentrated—and getting worse.

Alberta and Saskatchewan contribute billions through equalization, a program meant to help provinces deliver equal services. But most of that money flows east, even as major energy projects in the West are blocked by the same federal government that collects the cheques. Quebec, the biggest recipient, often resists national projects while asserting its autonomy. Atlantic Canada remains deeply reliant on transfers, reinforcing dependence instead of development.

This isn’t just a fiscal imbalance. It’s a political rift. Western alienation isn’t about attitude. It’s about policy.

Canada’s cities are under pressure

Urban centres are cracking under the weight of rising crime, addiction and untreated mental illness. Violent crime rose five per cent nationally in 2023. Car thefts are up more than 24 per cent, driven by organized crime networks. In B.C., fatal overdoses are now the leading cause of death for people aged 10 to 59 Cities are drowning in problems they can’t solve. Police are stretched thin. Prosecutors are dropping cases. And governments higher up the ladder don’t want to deal with the hard stuff.

Meanwhile, trust in public institutions is falling. Antisemitic incidents hit a record high in 2023. The national fabric is fraying.

It’s not too late, but we need real reform

Canada needs more than small fixes. The first step is to remove interprovincial trade barriers with enforceable legislation. If needed, we should consider constitutional reform.

We must phase out supply management with transitional support for farmers and shift toward global competition. We need national energy infrastructure— pipelines, LNG, clean power—and federal authority to prevent provincial obstruction.

Justice reform must include mental health courts, mandatory treatment for chronic offenders and better resources for frontline prosecutors and police.
And we need to restore trust. That means transparency, accountability and a national recommitment to free speech, pluralism and democratic values.

This isn’t about ideology. It’s about holding the country together.

Canada isn’t a failed state, yet. But it is failing. Economic gridlock, political fatigue, regional resentment and growing disorder are wearing down what once made this country work.

We still have the people, the resources and the institutions to fix it but only if our leaders stop pretending everything’s fine.

Canada can still save itself. But it has to start now.

Dr. Perry Kinkaide is a visionary leader and change agent. He has served as an advisor and director for various organizations and founded the Alberta Council of Technologies Society in 2005. Previously, he held leadership roles at KPMG Consulting and the Alberta Government. He holds a BA from Colgate University and an MSc and PhD in Brain Research from the University of Alberta.