In 2023, for every 100 nurses under 35 who joined the profession in Canada, 40 left—up from 36 a decade ago. In Manitoba, that number has soared to 58. Overwork, stress, and violence are driving them away. The solution isn’t more rules—it’s more flexibility.

Governments talk about equality but keep adding obstacles: high taxes, restrictive licensing, housing rules. To fix the elevator of opportunity, we need to lift these barriers instead of blocking the doors.

In Canada, your chances of getting ahead still depend too much on where you live. Alberta ranks first in social mobility, Quebec last. Artificial barriers hold some provinces back and slow down the whole country.

Canada’s social elevator is broken. Tax burdens, housing rules, and restrictive licensing add artificial barriers to natural disadvantages, holding back the progress of millions of Canadians. It’s time to restore real opportunities for all.

Social mobility is held back by two types of barriers: natural and artificial. While the former are hard to change, the latter—taxes, regulations, restrictive licensing—are in the hands of policymakers. Reducing them means giving everyone more opportunity.

Like Oscar, too many Canadians see their future held back by outdated rules and artificially high costs. Reducing regulatory and tax barriers means giving a real chance to those who want to work and move forward.

Social mobility is the ability to climb the income ladder and move forward through effort and talent. When that chance disappears, trust in the value of hard work crumbles.

In 2024, over 1.2 million Canadians, nearly 1 in 13 ER visits, left without being treated. Crowding, long waits, and lack of options are pushing patients out. It’s time to expand access to health care beyond ERs.

ER wait times are rising across Canada. In Alberta, the average is 3h48—nearly an hour longer than 5 years ago. To fix this, why not expand urgent care centres and let doctors run them, like in France? We need better access and less red tape.

Quebec could have balanced its budget as early as 2023–24. Instead, the government fell into the ratchet effect trap—keeping pandemic-level spending. Now we face a record $13.6B deficit. It’s time to restore fiscal discipline.