I have lived on three continents and I know what is preventing Canada from thriving

Posted on November 30, 2025 in Debates

Source: — Authors:

TheStar.com – Opinion/Contributors
Nov. 28, 2025.   Debakanta Jena, Contributor

“In my clinic, I see the cost of drift: young people doubting they’ll ever own a home and parents quietly lowering expectations. We haven’t run out of wealth or talent, but of focus. When people stop believing their effort leads somewhere, even democracy grows brittle,” writes Dr. Debakanta Jena.

Stock markets hover near record highs and companies are valued in the trillions. There are more billionaires than ever, yet a generation of hardworking young people no longer expects a better life than their parents.

Canada doesn’t lack wealth; it lacks movement. Capital is parking instead of being used to build. The problem isn’t success; it’s that confidence to reinvest has faded.

As a surgeon and physician, I listen to my patients and my community and meet people from every walk of life: an oil worker with a torn tendon, a teaching assistant with a pinched nerve, a new graduate with a knee injury and no insurance to carry him through recovery.

Their stories often overlap. The old bargain that worked for their parents — work hard, build a life — now often ends in pauses: maybe I’ll rent longer; maybe the second child waits; maybe the small business stays just an idea.

Having lived and worked on three continents, I’ve seen how belief in the future defines a nation. When people trust that effort will be rewarded, they invest in families, skills and enterprise. When that trust weakens, ambition shrinks, capital idles and confidence erodes. I’m not an economist, just a physician who listens. What I hear isn’t resentment of success but fatigue with the unpredictability of a system that no longer inspires hope.

In an open, capitalist democracy, risk-takers and wealth-builders are essential. The problem isn’t wealth creation; it’s the loss of a steady environment that allows wealth to serve the broader good. Tax rules shift midstream, approvals drag under political headwinds and in that world, caution beats creation.

If wealth is to circulate again, confidence must return through predictable rules, clear timelines and consistent standards. When capital moves through the economy, it doesn’t just create profit — it builds communities, supports hospitals and sustains schools. Without those conditions, the idea of redistributing wealth becomes little more than a fight over a shrinking pie.

We already possess what the world values: resources, talent and technology. Our resource sector can finance cleaner extraction and renewable innovation. New frontiers like artificial intelligence, biotechnology, advanced manufacturing and the climate economy offer the next wave of jobs and discovery.

But if our investment climate isn’t aligned with these demands and our talent, entrepreneurs will invest elsewhere. The ingredients are here — capital, skills and market need — but what’s missing is the imagination and steadiness to connect them.

That steadiness is the long game. Canadians need durable policy, stable standards, timely approvals and incentives that reward reinvestment in our industries, talent and technology. These are what turn ideas into industries and prevent mistaking emergency measures for strategy. Cheques and one-off programs can soften shocks but cannot replace the confidence that compounds over years.

A healthy economy sustains strong public systems. Our goal has never been growth at any cost, but growth that keeps health care accessible, schools excellent and a safety net for those who need it. Prosperity and fairness are not opposites; they rise together when rules are fair and ambition has room to run.

Immigration belongs in that frame. As an immigrant, I know the hope newcomers bring. But headline targets without matching housing, health care, and genuine job pathways fail everyone. They strain services, push newcomers into survival jobs and have left us with the highest youth unemployment in decades. A focused, needs-based, skills-aligned approach helps immigrants succeed and strengthens the economy.

None of these paths demand ideology but require pragmatism and imagination — creating conditions that let people see results they can feel: homes built, wages rising, wait times falling. That’s how confidence returns. And when confidence returns, wealth moves and works for everyone, not just a few.

In my clinic, I see the cost of drift: young people doubting they’ll ever own a home and parents quietly lowering expectations. We haven’t run out of wealth or talent, but of focus. When people stop believing their effort leads somewhere, even democracy grows brittle.

Still, our national pulse is strong. I saw it on COVID wards when colleagues worked beyond their limits to help and in small towns where neighbours supported one another through hardship. That steady, determined spirit still defines us. With clear, reliable rules and an environment that rewards innovation and effort, it can once again set wealth in motion, creating dignified work and a future young Canadians can see.

If that happens, we won’t be arguing over slices of a shrinking pie, but baking a bigger one for all.

Dr. Debakanta Jena is chief of orthopaedic surgery at Medicine Hat Regional Hospital, faculty at the University of Calgary and a first-generation immigrant to Canada.

https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/i-have-lived-on-three-continents-and-i-know-what-is-preventing-canada-from-thriving/article_ca7ab336-056b-4187-92cb-390b2914f509.html

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