# Canada’s economy: Rich on paper, poor in reality

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Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-really-big-show-with-jim-csek-iain-burns-7118319/canada-s-economy-rich-on-paper-poor-in-reality.md
Podcast: [The Really Big Show with Jim Csek &Iain Burns](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-really-big-show-with-jim-csek-iain-burns-7118319)
Published: 2026-06-08T20:34:52+00:00
Episode link: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ai-ev/episodes/Canadas-economy-Rich-on-paper--poor-in-reality-e3kh12c
Audio file: https://anchor.fm/s/10fa926fc/podcast/play/121192972/https%3A%2F%2Fd3ctxlq1ktw2nl.cloudfront.net%2Fstaging%2F2026-5-8%2F425759376-44100-2-1c56e0967b088.mp3
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Duration seconds: 7583

## Resource

Canada sits on the world's third largest oil reserves, runs a supply-managed dairy system to protect domestic food security, and has enough agricultural land to feed a continent. Grocery prices are up 30% since 2019, food banks are at record levels, and a Crown corporation with 13 vice presidents is spending $1.6 million advertising a train that does not exist. The groceries benefit being deposited into accounts this week cuts off entirely to single Canadians earning above $56,181, meaning millions of working Canadians squeezed by 30% grocery inflation receive nothing. The Competition Bureau is taking Sobeys to court for blocking competitors from 51 markets. Canada has imported 52 million kilograms of foreign chicken while domestic producers have underproduced in 12 of the last 14 periods. And the supply-managed system Canadian consumers subsidize through higher prices is producing baby formula that ships to China. This is not a country without resources. It is a country whose resources are not working for the people paying for them.►TD Bank reports Canadian grocery prices have soared 30% since 2019, as Ottawa distributes the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit, a rebranded GST credit paying a maximum of $679 to single adults earning under $56,181, cutting off entirely above that threshold and delivering nothing to millions of working Canadians squeezed by the same price increases►The Competition Bureau is taking Sobeys to Federal Court alleging the grocery giant used secret restrictive lease clauses to block competitors from opening stores in 51 markets across 6 provinces, as Canada's grocery sector has consolidated from 13 chains to 3 dominant players over 3 decades of bureau-approved mergers►Canada has imported 52.2 million kilograms of foreign chicken this year…

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