By Melanie | Substack.com/@MelanieInSaskatchewan

Mr. Carney,

You stood at a podium [of The World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, January 22, 2026], and told Canadians that this country thrives because we are Canadian.

It was a beautiful line. Polished. Applause ready. It was also insulting.

Because it confuses thriving with surviving, and only someone who has never had to do either could make that mistake so confidently.

Canadians do not thrive the way you describe. We endure. We adapt. We make do. We get through.

We get up early not because it is inspiring, but because bills do not care about speeches. We work late not because it is fulfilling, but because standing still is not an option. We shovel our own driveways because help is expensive, unreliable, or nonexistent, and we still show up on time.

That is not thriving, Mr. Carney. That is survival with dignity.

We survive when systems fail. We adjust when costs rise. We absorb broken promises and carry on anyway. There is no applause line for that, because survival does not photograph well.

We survive because farmers plant knowing Ottawa might change the rules halfway through the season. Because tradespeople build while being taxed, regulated, and lectured by people who have never risked payroll on a slow month. Because parents budget groceries like a tactical exercise and still manage to raise decent kids without permission from a federal narrative.

We survive because Canadians are practical. When something breaks, we fix it ourselves. Not because we want to, but because waiting for government help usually means waiting forever. Or being told the service exists on paper.

You speak of thriving while Canadians quietly ask which services you are referring to.

Healthcare that exists in theory. Housing plans that never house anyone. Affordability programs that arrive long after the damage is done.

We survive because communities step in when institutions step back. Not because systems are strong, but because neighbours are. We rely on each other because experience has taught us not to rely on governments that measure success by how well they explain failure.

We survive because small businesses stayed open through lockdowns, fines, shortages, and paperwork that multiplied faster than revenue. Because families absorbed inflation while being told it was temporary. Because seniors adapted quietly to shrinking purchasing power while politicians assured them relief was coming.

You call this thriving. Canadians call it getting through.

We survive because we know how to get through winters. Literal ones and political ones. We stock up. We brace ourselves. We do not expect rescue, especially from people who have never had to wait for it.

We survive because we question authority. Just ask the Freedom Convoy. Canadians have an instinctive allergy to being ordered around by people who exempt themselves from the consequences. We remember what happens when compliance is mistaken for unity.

We survive because we do not confuse slogans with reality, no matter how high the elbows go or how loudly we are told to clap. We know the difference between leadership and performance. Between patriotism and appropriation.

And while governments waste money, restrict rights, censor speech, divide citizens, and congratulate themselves, Canadians quietly keep the country functioning anyway.

That is not thriving. That is resilience under pressure.

So when you tell Canadians they thrive because they are Canadian, it lands differently on those of us who have actually lived it.

Because confusing survival with thriving is easy if you have never had to survive.

And that is the problem.

Mark Carney speaks of thriving from a life buffered by boards, institutions, and global forums. A life spent above the consequences does not teach you the difference between getting ahead and just getting through.

Those who have never had to survive often mistake endurance for success and then try to take credit for it.

So no, Mr. Carney.

Canadians are not thriving because of you.

We are surviving despite a government that made life harder, more expensive, more divided, and then attempted to dress our endurance up as its achievement.

Our resilience is not your accomplishment.

It is proof of a people who carried each other while being lectured by someone who does not recognize the difference.

And Canadians are done applauding the performance.

My advice to you, Mr. Carney?

Before defining Canadians, try surviving as one.

As always,

Melanie in Saskatchewan

Originally published at substack.com/@melanieinsaskatchewan