As someone who has traveled extensively and lived for at least one year in seven different countries, the reason why Canada is so depressing is because Canadians are trapped in the past.
What do I mean by this? Canada, by many metrics, was the best country in the world in the 80s and 90s. GDP per capita was nearly on par with the US, yet crime was lower, education was cheaper, and inequality was lower.
This instilled a tremendous pride in Canadians that they lived in an underestimated yet truly great nation. This pride prevented us from noticing our rapid decline.
Canada is now only about 75% of the per capita GDP that the US has, and we lag behind even their poorest states. Most Canadians are unaware of this, and hold the mistaken belief that Canada is still a great place to live. Yet because the majority of the population believe that Canada is still on top, it creates an extremely depressing combination of hopelessness, while also believing that this is as good as it gets.
Britain went through a similar period of steep decline, while refusing to acknowledge it. Only theirs happened a few decades before Canada's.
The solution is to get outside the borders of Canada. You'll find that many of the countries that are viewed as being far “worse” than Canada are full of happiness and opportunity. At the very least, you will find places that have one small thing that you like.
So yeah, when people live in a country that is in decline, where children will almost assuredly be worse off than their parents, while simultaneously believing that this is the best the world has to offer, is going to be pretty darn depressing.
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