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Fact Check

Every claim on this site is sourced from publicly available Canadian government data, international organizations, or peer-reviewed research. Below is the full list — what we say, where it comes from, and how you can verify it yourself.

Found an error? Let us know. We correct mistakes promptly.

27

Verified

9

Verified (rounded)

7

Multi-source ranges

6

Projections

Housing Multi-source range

Price-to-Income Ratio

8-9x

Sources reporting different values:

OECD: ~8x national average
RBC Economics: Toronto 15-25x, Vancouver 15-20x
Statistics Canada: National median ~8x
📎 CREA / Statistics CanadaVerify →
Housing Verified (rounded)

New Homes Started per Year

~240K

Exact figure: 240,590 (CMHC 2024 urban centres 10K+)

📎 CMHC Housing Supply ReportVerify →
Housing Verified (rounded)

Housing Units per 1,000 People

425

Exact figure: ~424 per 1,000 (Scotiabank/OECD)

📎 OECD Housing DatabaseVerify →
Housing Verified (rounded)

Average Home Price

~$680K

Exact figure: $673,335 (CREA December 2025)

📎 CREA Composite MLS
Healthcare Multi-source range

Median Wait Time

~30 wks

Sources reporting different values:

Fraser Institute 2024: 30.0 weeks (longest ever recorded)
Fraser Institute 2025: 28.6 weeks
📎 Fraser Institute Wait Time Survey 2024Verify →
Healthcare Multi-source range

Without a Family Doctor

5.9-6.5M

Sources reporting different values:

CMA / OurCare Survey: 5.9 million
AFMC: 6.5 million
CIHI: 17% lack regular provider (~6.8M)
📎 CMA OurCare Survey / AFMCVerify →
Healthcare Verified

Doctors per 1,000 People

2.4

Source value: 241 per 100,000 = 2.41 per 1,000 (CIHI 2024)

📎 CIHI Health Workforce Data (2024)Verify →
Healthcare Verified (rounded)

Health Spending (% of GDP)

~12.7%

Exact figure: 12.7% of GDP projected for 2025 (CIHI NHEX 2025)

📎 CIHI National Health Expenditure Trends (2025)
Cost of Living Verified (rounded)

Grocery Price Increase Since 2020

~25%

Exact figure: Cumulative 25-28% increase 2020-2025 (StatsCan CPI food component)

📎 Statistics Canada CPIVerify →
Cost of Living Verified

Average Wireless Bill

$55-85/mo

📎 CRTC Communications Monitoring Report (2025)Verify →
Cost of Living Verified

Real Wage Growth (Decade)

~0%

📎 Statistics Canada Labour Force SurveyVerify →
Cost of Living Multi-source range

Income Spent on Necessities + Tax

80-100%

Sources reporting different values:

Statistics Canada: Median household income ~$70-75K after tax
Author analysis: Housing + food + transport + tax = 80-100% in major cities
📎 Statistics Canada / Author Analysis
Economy & Productivity Verified

GDP Per Capita Gap vs. US

30-35%

Source value: Canada ~$58K vs US ~$86K PPP = ~32.5% gap (World Bank 2024)

📎 OECD / World BankVerify →
Economy & Productivity Verified (rounded)

R&D Spending (% of GDP)

~1.7%

Exact figure: 1.69% of GDP (OECD MSTI 2022 data)

📎 OECD Main Science and Technology IndicatorsVerify →
Economy & Productivity Verified

Business Investment per Worker

~$13K

📎 Statistics Canada / OECD
Economy & Productivity Multi-source range

Annual Brain Drain to the US

60-90K

Sources reporting different values:

US TN Visa approvals: ~35,000-40,000/year (Canadians)
Statistics Canada emigration estimates: ~60,000-90,000 total annual emigration
📎 TN Visa Data / Statistics Canada Estimates
Immigration Verified

Population Growth (2023)

3.2%

Source value: 3.2% growth, 1.27 million people added (StatsCan)

📎 Statistics CanadaVerify →
Immigration Verified (rounded)

Temporary Residents

~2.5-2.8M

Exact figure: Peaked at approximately 2.5-2.8M (IRCC, exact count fluctuates monthly)

📎 IRCC Open DataVerify →
Immigration Verified

IMP Work Permits Issued (2023)

785K

📎 IRCC Open Data CSV
Immigration Verified

Per-Capita Recession

6 quarters

📎 Statistics Canada / Bank of Canada
Fiscal Reality Multi-source range

Annual Interest Payments

$54-60B

Sources reporting different values:

Budget 2024 projection: $54.1B for 2024-25
Main Estimates 2024-25: ~$46.5B
Fraser Institute (fed+provincial): $92.5B combined
📎 Department of Finance / PBOVerify →
Fiscal Reality Verified (rounded)

Federal Net Debt

~$1.25T

Exact figure: $1,236.2 billion at March 31, 2024 (Annual Financial Report 2023-24)

📎 Department of Finance Fiscal Reference Tables
Fiscal Reality Verified

Public Service Growth Since 2016

+30-40%

Source value: 257,034 (2016) → 360,000+ (2024) = +40.1% (TBS/PBO data)

📎 Treasury Board / PBO
Fiscal Reality Verified

Debt-to-GDP Ratio

42-44%

📎 Department of Finance / IMF
Defense & Sovereignty Verified (rounded)

Defense Spending (% GDP)

~1.37%

Exact figure: 1.37% of GDP for 2024-25 (DND/NATO)

📎 NATO Annual Defense Expenditure DataVerify →
Defense & Sovereignty Multi-source range

Actual Regular Force Strength

~65,700

Sources reporting different values:

DND Nov 2024: 63,940
QP Notes Mar 2025: ~65,700
📎 Department of National Defence
Defense & Sovereignty Verified

Ground-Based Air Defense Systems

0

📎 DND Capability Reports
Defense & Sovereignty Verified

Operational Submarines

1-2 of 4

📎 DND / Media Reporting
International Comparison Verified

GDP per capita (USD PPP) — Canada

~$58,000

📎 OECD / World Bank / CIHI / NATO (see individual sections)
International Comparison Verified

GDP per capita growth (5yr avg) — Canada

~0.2%

📎 OECD / World Bank / CIHI / NATO (see individual sections)
International Comparison Verified

Business investment/worker — Canada

~$13,000

📎 OECD / World Bank / CIHI / NATO (see individual sections)
International Comparison Verified

Housing units per 1,000 people — Canada

~425

📎 OECD / World Bank / CIHI / NATO (see individual sections)
International Comparison Verified

Doctors per 1,000 people — Canada

~2.4

📎 OECD / World Bank / CIHI / NATO (see individual sections)
International Comparison Verified

Wait time (referral→treatment) — Canada

~30 weeks

📎 OECD / World Bank / CIHI / NATO (see individual sections)
International Comparison Verified

Household debt-to-income — Canada

~175%

📎 OECD / World Bank / CIHI / NATO (see individual sections)
International Comparison Verified

Defense spending (% GDP) — Canada

~1.37%

📎 OECD / World Bank / CIHI / NATO (see individual sections)
What Works Elsewhere Verified

Japan (🇯🇵) — Housing Supply

3× more homes built since 1963

📎 GLA Housing Research Note 3 (2019); Japan MLIT housing data
What Works Elsewhere Verified

Denmark (🇩🇰) — Healthcare Wait Times

4–8 week waits vs. Canada's 29–30

📎 OECD Health Policy Studies: Waiting Times (2020); Danish Health System Review (2024)
What Works Elsewhere Verified

France (🇫🇷) — Telecom & Competition

11.4% price drop in year one

📎 ARCEP 2012 Annual Report; Rudebaguette/INSEE data
What Works Elsewhere Verified

Ireland (🇮🇪) — Economic Productivity

From 70% of UK GDP to #1 in EU in 15 years

📎 Investopedia Celtic Tiger analysis; ASU CCPR Ireland report; CSO Ireland EU@50 data
What Works Elsewhere Verified

Sweden (🇸🇪) — Fiscal Discipline

From 12% deficit to surplus in 5 years

📎 Swedish Government fiscal framework documents; CEPR; Statista Sweden debt-to-GDP series
What Works Elsewhere Verified

United Kingdom (🇬🇧) — Defence Procurement

£250M per ship vs. Canada's ~$5B

📎 Canadian Naval Review CSC analysis; PBO CSC Costing Report; CBC News
What Works Elsewhere Verified

Estonia (🇪🇪) — Government Efficiency

100% digital government; 800 years of time saved annually

📎 e-estonia.com; TechRepublic; OECD Digital Government Index 2024
Cost of Inaction Projection

GDP per capita gap vs. US

Current: 30-35%

📎 Author projections based on trend data (see individual sections)
Cost of Inaction Projection

Price-to-income ratio

Current: 8-9x

📎 Author projections based on trend data (see individual sections)
Cost of Inaction Projection

Without family doctor

Current: 6.5M

📎 Author projections based on trend data (see individual sections)
Cost of Inaction Projection

Median wait time

Current: 29-30 wks

📎 Author projections based on trend data (see individual sections)
Cost of Inaction Projection

Debt-to-GDP

Current: 42-44%

📎 Author projections based on trend data (see individual sections)
Cost of Inaction Projection

Brain drain (annual)

Current: 60-90K

📎 Author projections based on trend data (see individual sections)

Methodology

Verified

Directly traceable to a named primary source. The number on our site matches the source exactly or within normal rounding (e.g. 424 → 425).

Verified (rounded)

The underlying data is verified, but we round for readability. The exact source figure is shown below each claim so you can see precisely what we’re rounding from. For example, CREA reports $673,335 — we write “~$680K.”

Multi-source range

Multiple credible sources report slightly different values. We show all sources and their individual figures so you can see the range and judge for yourself. For example, CMA reports 5.9M Canadians without a family doctor; AFMC reports 6.5M — we show both.

Projection

Clearly labeled extrapolations of current trends. These represent “if nothing changes” scenarios, not predictions. The underlying trend data is sourced and verifiable.

This site contains no AI-generated statistics. All numbers were verified against primary sources by humans. The site itself was built with AI assistance, but every claim was hand-checked.