dear mark carney: your big ideas aren't working for vancouver

dear prime minister carney,

you talk about building a stronger canada, economic growth, investment and a future filled with opportunity. but have you looked at vancouver lately? have you looked at the people who can no longer afford to live here?

vancouver sucks.

there, i said it.

a city surrounded by breathtaking mountains, forests and ocean has become a place where ordinary people struggle to afford a roof over their heads. artists are pushed out. workers can't afford to live near their jobs. young people wonder whether they'll ever own a home. longtime residents watch their neighbourhoods change while the cost of staying keeps climbing.

and now we're hearing about more than $4 billion worth of unsold condos in vancouver — roughly 5,400 units in june.

how does this make sense?

we have people without homes and homes without buyers. we have housing treated as an investment while human beings are left wondering where they'll sleep. we have luxury developments and unaffordable rents, while people who contribute to their communities are increasingly priced out of them.

this didn't begin yesterday. vancouver's housing crisis has been building for years, through successive governments and policies that have failed to make housing affordable for enough people.

so here's my question, prime minister: when do we stop measuring success by investment dollars and start measuring it by whether people can actually afford to live in canada?

your government has presented big ideas about building homes, attracting investment and strengthening the canadian economy. but announcements aren't homes, investment isn't affordability, and economic growth means very little to someone who can't pay the rent.

we need to know whether these plans will produce homes people can afford, not simply more expensive properties or another opportunity for investors.

we also need transparency and accountability in real estate. when people see properties sitting empty, luxury businesses that appear barely active, and extraordinary wealth beside growing hardship, they ask questions. allegations of money laundering must be investigated on evidence, not rumours. financial rules must be enforced fairly, whoever the people involved happen to be.

and let's talk about displacement.

a city shouldn't become a place where only the wealthy can remain. people who have lived here for decades shouldn't feel like strangers in their own neighbourhoods. indigenous communities shouldn't have to fight endlessly for their rights and land. artists shouldn't have to abandon the places where they create. young people shouldn't have to leave their home province to find a future.

canada can welcome newcomers and still protect existing communities. those goals aren't mutually exclusive. the problem is an economic system that gives people with money far more choices than people without it.

i've watched vancouver become increasingly difficult for ordinary people to live in. i know what housing insecurity feels like. this isn't an abstract debate about market trends or economic theory. it's about dignity, stability and whether a person has a place in the world.

your big ideas must work for ordinary people, prime minister — not just look impressive on paper.

build housing people can afford. protect renters. address speculation and vacant properties. enforce financial regulations. work with provinces and municipalities to make housing a human necessity rather than simply an investment vehicle.

and publish measurable results. how many genuinely affordable homes are being delivered? how many people are able to remain in their communities? are rents becoming more manageable? are people experiencing less housing insecurity?

show us the outcomes, not just the announcements.

because people are tired. they're worried about their children, their neighbours and their own futures. they're losing faith that governments understand what life has become for those without wealth.

vancouver shouldn't be a cautionary tale about what happens when a beautiful city becomes too expensive for the people who give it life.

canada needs a future where ordinary people can afford to live, where communities remain communities, and where prosperity isn't reserved for those who already have the most.

mark carney, the question isn't whether canada can attract more money. it's whether canada can build a country where people can afford to live.

right now, too many people are still waiting for that answer.

— tina winterlik
blogger, artist, and a person who believes people should matter more than property values

5,400 unsold condos. Billions of dollars in inventory. People struggling to find homes. Dear Canada, something is seriously wrong. When will we start putting people before property values?

#VancouverHousing #HousingCrisis #AffordableHousing #HousingIsAHumanRight #MarkCarney #Canada #HousingInequality #EmptyHomes #CostOfLiving #PeopleBeforeProfit