Many people talk about the “Good Old Days.”
Not because life was perfect—far from it—but because there was a shared sense that effort led somewhere. That hard work could build a life. That the future might be better than the present.
Somewhere between then and now, that sense quietly slipped away.
Today, many Canadians no longer believe that working harder will lead to stability. Young people struggle to imagine home ownership, retirement, or even long-term security. Parents worry about what kind of life their children will inherit. Older adults find that what they built no longer stretches far enough.
This is not just about money.
It is about direction.
Over time, priorities shifted. Necessities became secondary to profits. Communities were replaced by markets. Long-term wellbeing gave way to short-term gains. Decisions that once happened close to home moved further and further away—from people, from places, from lived reality.
As a result, many of us lost something essential:
- a sense of agency,
- a sense of shared responsibility,
- a belief that ordinary people could shape their own futures.
We were told to trust the system.
We were told experts knew best.
We were told growth would lift everyone.
But for many, growth lifted very little—except costs, stress, and expectations.
This loss has consequences. When people stop believing in the future, they disengage. When systems feel distant and unresponsive, people feel powerless. And when power concentrates in fewer hands, the voices of the many grow quieter.
The “Good Old Days” are not something to return to. The world has changed, and some changes were necessary. But ignoring what was lost—connection, fairness, possibility—comes at a cost.
The question is not how to go backward.
The question is how to move forward without losing one another.
What do you think earlier generations had that feels hardest to achieve today—and why?
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