Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre commented on a report published by a federal department that predicts Canada will face a dystopian future by 2040, where hard work will no longer be enough to get ahead.
The report predicts social inequality will reach unseen levels, with different classes no longer engaging with one another, and predicts that people could be forced to forage for food because of costs.
Poilievre said the fact that this report wasn’t dominating the headlines across every news outlet in the country was “unbelievable.”
“What they are anticipating on the current trajectory is a total meltdown, a societal breakdown in Canada if we stay on the current track,” said Poilievre.
The report, Future Lives: Social mobility in question, was published by Policy Horizons Canada in January 2025 but only recently resurfaced.
The Conservative leader pondered whether Liberal Leader Mark Carney had read the report. True North reached out to Carney but received no reply.
Poilievre cited some of the report’s most damning quotes.
“More people may struggle to afford rent, bills or groceries. The resulting stress could worsen mental health challenges. This would increase demand on social services in 2040. Upward social mobility is almost unheard of in Canada,” said Poilievre, quoting the report. “Hardly anyone believes that they can build a better life for themselves or their children through their own efforts. Many worry about sliding down the social order in 2040.”
The report highlighted six reasons why upward social mobility would be unheard of in 2040.
Post-secondary education would no longer be tied to a successful career, but instead serve to reinforce membership in the “elite.” Few would see owning a home as a realistic goal. They would be forced to take out intergenerational mortgages and have several generations of families living together.
The report also noted that Canadians would see inheritance as the only way to get ahead. The report said that people would rarely mix with those of a different socio-economic status, adding that dating apps would filter by class.
“The report paints a terrifying picture of a spiral of economic depression and cost inflation,” said Poilievre.
The report added that Canada would become a less attractive migrant destination due to its uncommon upward mobility and that many people in Canada may choose to emigrate to achieve higher standards of living.
However, the last portion of the report highlighted by Poilievre was the most staggering to him, as it painted a barbaric future driven by high grocery prices.
“People may start to hunt, fish, and forage on public lands and waterways,” reads the report, quoted by Poilievre.
The Conservative leader previously discussed his raison d’être—his reason for existing—which is to provide Canadians the same opportunities he was afforded as a young Canadian.
He discussed his raison d’être again.
“It is just hard to believe when you read these words that this is about Canada,” said Poilievre. “This is exactly why I’m in politics — to reverse this. To give people back the promise of this country,” said Poilievre.