The blog dogs bark

The canine portrait above come from a couple of kiddos who can’t afford to rent in Vancouver. They certainly can’t buy, but don’t know that. And they live in a converted ambulance while they save. They’ve written me for real estate advice. That won’t take long.

Yesterday’s pre-budget blog poll asked you if Ottawa could seriously do anything to restore housing affordability for people like this. After all, Mark Carney has already put $13 billion in the bowl. Twice that amount is yet to come, he adds.

But in our poll,  you say phooey. Of the impressive 3,219 respondents over the course of twenty hours, well over 90% are telling Ottawa to deploy those billions elsewhere. It’s hopeless.

So what do you hope the guys now running the country will actually do?

Two of the loudest replies were (a) end our dependence on the Yanks, once and for all, and (b) reduce the size of government, rather than keep the public service intact to deliver services. Also strongly supported is a big boost to military spending while blog dogs are voting thumbs down on bailing out companies and workers that end up being tariff roadkill.

So does this mark a turn to the political right? Are you, the addicted blog rabble, going Trumpian on me?

Nah. We’re Canadian, and proud to remain strange.

Clearly you do not want an election (resoundingly), but if one were called there’d be a majority Liberal government here in the Greater Fool Nation. The Cons would lose seats and popular vote count while “None of The Above” would proudly come in third.

Also notable: Pierre Poilievre is probably toast, unless our poll is wildly unreflective of your fellow citizens. PP’s disapproval rate is north of 70% (a disaster) while Carney’s approval sits a dozen points above that of the Liberal brand itself.

So that brings us to the next question.

Will the Conservatives support this budget with its massive ‘nation-building’ spending, a mother of a deficit and a deep anti-American theme? Will the Dippers vote for Carney’s plan of austerity and government downsizing of unionized workers? Is the Bloc going to hold out for the huge social spending hikes and added senior benefits it demanded?

Well, too bad oppo guys. You lose this one.

The NDP is headless at the moment and if the Cons oppose the budget they will be brainless. The only possibility is that Poilievre, fearing he may be punted in the leadership review coming in January, figures he has nothing to lose by forcing a vote and going down with flourish.

Another election would cost us $570 million. I guess it could come out of his pension.

READER SURVEY RESULTS, click to enlarge image:
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About the picture: “My fiancé and I are at a bit of a financial crossroads right now and I know you sometimes share advice, so I figured I’d reach out,” writes Bethany. “We’re 26 and 27, earning about $100K a year each. Two years ago, when rent prices were through the roof in Vancouver, we bought a decommissioned ambulance and converted it into a home. We’ve been living in it full-time since then and managed to save about $90K. Lately though, the cold and lack of a shower have started to wear on us, so we’ve been thinking about renting a place. But with interest rates coming down and the housing market cooling off, we’ve also been considering buying an apartment. We’d be very interested to hear your thoughts on renting versus buying in this market and whether it would be better for us to wait to have 20% down. P.S. Here’s a photo of my mom’s Great Dane hanging out in the ambulance. Don’t worry, she doesn’t live with us! We just love taking her on walks.”

To be in touch or send a picture of your beast, email to ‘garth@garth.ca’.

Source: https://www.greaterfool.ca/2025/11/04/the-blog-dogs-bark/