Geoff Russ: Young men will once again be sacrificed for the greater good
They are at the back of the line for jobs, yet first to be called upon to defend the Arctic.
Mark Carney says “sacrifices” are necessary to save the Canadian economy. He did not say who will make those sacrifices, but it is not difficult to guess. Young men, reeling and fatigued since the pandemic, are once again being lined up to carry the load of a broken social contract.
In his pre-budget proposal, Carney pledged to double non-United States-bound exports, slash waste, and inject capital into ports, rail, defence, and housing after winning an election on shifting trade away from the U.S.
Carney also cautioned that the process would be neither quick nor painless, as half a century of expanding continental trade in North America unwinds.
“Sacrifices.” That word hits a certain generation painfully hard after they’ve already been made to give up much of their primes to lockdowns and “wait their turn” for opportunity.
Canadians are being squeezed by a tough labour market, and suffering from heightened job anxiety. Roughly 40 percent of people in Canada are worried about layoffs in the tariff-driven climate of economic uncertainty, according to a recent Leger poll.
In August, 66,000 jobs were lost in Canada, with core-aged men absorbing the heaviest losses. In British Columbia, the once-booming construction industry is headed for a downturn. Thousands of blue-collar workers and tradesmen have already been laid off as projects stall due to taxes, fees, and permitting delays.
Home sales in Greater Vancouver collapsed by about 80 percent compared to 2021, indicating further job losses to come, with 20,000 person-years of work lost in the first half of 2025. CMHC forecasts even further losses by 2027, and it is having a human cost beyond a loss of income.
Suicide took 4,447 lives in Canada in 2023, with 75 percent of them being men. Suicide is now the second-leading cause of death for men under 50.
In the words of Without Diminishment’s managing editor, Alexander Brown, young men are “failing to launch,” and they are hardly to blame.
A University of Michigan study found that the lockdowns in 2020 likely saved more lives than they cost, but warned against repeating the same playbook during the next crisis. In Britain, data showed teenage boys’ mental health deteriorated during the pandemic lockdowns, and has not rebounded. Surveys after COVID found spikes in adolescent anxiety, depression, and loneliness, with many unable to regain control and connection in their lives.
Added to that mix are rare but real medical risks. Myocarditis, a dangerous heart condition, can occur after mRNA vaccination, with the highest incidence in young males shortly after a second dose.
For young men, their formative years meant for gaining strength and skills became lost time filled with new added pressures, isolation, and greater risks. It was all in the name of public safety, especially for vulnerable seniors. Millions gave up their best years and were threatened with fines or jail time for minor infractions of lockdown restrictions.
Now, as we comprehend how things will get worse, the same Liberal government asks for more “sacrifice”.
Canada’s growth gap with the U.S. has widened since 2022, with slumping productivity and sluggish growth.
Ottawa and the provinces have fattened the public payrolls to make up the difference while smothering private-sector dynamism. In the new white-collar welfare state, able-bodied men stand last in line under state-directed racial and sex-based hiring preferences.
Labour policies have made a bad situation even worse. Deregulating low-wage temporary foreign workers in 2022 juiced the numbers of cheap, non-Canadian workers, and pushed native-born teenagers and young adults out of starter jobs.