Canada has long prided itself on maintaining a robust social safety net for residents, spending hundreds of billions of dollars each year on social programs aimed at reducing poverty and equalizing access to health care, education, food and shelter. But key parts of that safety net are fraying — in some cases badly.
In Canada’s four largest cities, unaffordable housing, years-long waits for a doctor, food insecurity and a drug epidemic have reached crisis levels, report Danielle Bochove, Mathieu Dion, Thomas Seal and Kevin Orland. Meanwhile, the country’s population is growing rapidly. Today on CityLab: Housing Crisis, Packed Hospitals and Food Lines: Even in Canada?