Prime Minister Mark Carney stood in front of a room of university students and told them they need to sacrifice more. It was a bizarre national address about the upcoming budget, one that certainly sounded like he’s prepping Canadians for another massive financial blow.

A man who’s just one year shy of being a “Boomer”, went on to talk about the great life and opportunities he’s had. What he didn’t mention is that, as chair of Brookfield, he helped the company dodge $6.5 billion in taxes owed to the Canadian economy. Yet somehow, he expects young people to sacrifice more.

The hypocrisy, and quite frankly, the cruelty, is appalling.

This is a man who is extremely wealthy, who has the power to change the trajectory of Canada’s economy, and yet he’s the key driver in putting us in a catastrophic position.

Food Banks Canada released their annual report just a day ago, and the results are shocking:

• 2.2 million people a month are relying on food banks
• 1 in 5 users are employed
• 711,770 are children

People are using food banks as grocery stores, in Canada.

This is not normal.

Homelessness and open drug use have also become normalized in this country.

I recently walked from Ottawa’s ByWard Market to my hotel and, honestly, it was frightening, and I’m from Douro, almost nothing scares me!

It was 10:30 p.m. on a Thursday night. I had to call someone and put them on speakerphone just to feel somewhat safe. I was accosted multiple times by people clearly unwell and in crisis.

When people are struggling with poverty, homelessness, and addiction, the chance of committing a crime increases, not because they’re bad people, but because they’re desperate. Yet instead of offering real help and solutions, we’ve normalized chaos in our streets.

The Liberal government is lowering your expectations, and they’re succeeding.

Sixty percent of first-time home buyers have already adjusted their expectations about owning a home.

They’re trying to normalize what is not normal.

Don’t let them.

We’ve come to accept abysmal service and declining standards. Just look at the recent Auditor General’s report on the CRA. IF you’re one of the “lucky” 17% who gets through you can expect the information you’re given to be wrong 83% of the time 🤯 Hours on hold to duty be disconnected or given the wrong information. This is not normal.

And let’s talk about health care. We have no acute care capacity left because we have doctors driving Ubers instead of practicing medicine, all while our hospitals are overwhelmed. We’ve opened our borders too quickly and without a plan, and it’s hurting both newcomers and Canadians. Liberals disastrous immigration policies have created scarcity, division and crime. None of this is coincidence. It’s the direct result of Liberal policies and ideology.

We’re leaving our oil, gas, and critical minerals in the ground when we should be developing them to build sovereignty, independence, and prosperity. Alberta is threatening separation because they’re tired of being used and abused by Ottawa.

So I ask again: what’s left to sacrifice?

Pay attention to the upcoming budget. Pay attention to the words of Mark Carney, the man who recently said we need to “swing for the fences and sacrifice more.”

Translation: brace for impact.

We’ve sacrificed our savings, our standards, and our sanity. Canada is worth fighting for. The Liberals say sacrifice. Canadians need to say, enough, there’s nothing left to sacrifice.

None of this is normal. Our kids deserve better.

Don’t give up.

Michelle Ferreri is a political commentator, strategic communications and media consultant, and the former Member of Parliament for Peterborough—Kawartha