Canada (Well Really Mark Carney & Jim Flaherty) Stuck Between Rock & Hard Place

More on that in a second...

Last week we were on our way down to Atlanta, and a lady sits next to us on the flight.

We get chatting, and it turns out she's American.  Her daughter and son-in-law transferred up to Canada earlier this year.

And guess what?

They feel so grateful for the opportunity!

When is the last time you heard Americans feeling grateful for the opportunity to work in Canada?

Naturally, this shocks and amuses us a little, so we dig into the conversation.

Her daughter actually lives in my neighbourhood in Oakville, Ontario. Small world.

Well, in Georgia, where they're from, they are "upside down" on their mortgage ... they owe more on the property than it's worth ... and can't sell it.  Job opportunities are slim where they were once plentiful and even with our dreaded "universal health care" and different school system, they're happy to be here.

Nice to be wanted isn't it?

Anyway, turns out this nice lady was in the real estate industry in Atlanta for years ... with a large franchise organization that starts with an R and ends with an X.

Things got so bad over the last 3 years that the franchise owner did not renew the franchise license.  They just let it go.

They went from 125 agents in 2008 to under 20 today.

The ones that are left are producing and making money, but the franchise owner cut fees so much to keep them with her private label brokerage, that she's barely breaking even.

Ouch.

Turns out two other couples in Atlanta owned about half a dozen other real estate franchises, and they lost them all in the last three years.

They went completely bankrupt and lost each of them.

Ouch, Part 2.

And then we step out of the Matrix.

Literally 24 hours later at the conference, we're attending in Atlanta, we meet up with two guys who are completely dominating in real estate in Texas and Oklahoma.

Crushing it.

They've been working on their business hard for six years, and they've been expanding throughout the last few years ... not declining.

They've been hiring, stealing market share, increasing profits and attracting top talent.

Exactly what you should be doing in times like these.

This is their time ... they can smell it.

These two young guys have embraced the changes and are thriving.

So much so that they threw a real estate conference three weeks ago, and had 450 agents from all over North America (some from Winnipeg even) fly in for the event and pay them big bucks for the privilege.

This is at a time when the industry can't get 30 people together in some cities for a free event.

Same environment ... two different outcomes.

Interesting stuff.

Now, back to Canada.

Poor Mark Carney and Jim Flaherty (Bank of Canada Governor and Federal Finance Minister respectively).

It wasn't more than a few months ago that Flaherty was preaching "balanced budget" and austerity measures that would get the deficit under control.

That's now off the table (check it out here).

Poor guy, he's got no choice ... it's either go along with the disastrous monetary policy decisions going on right now around the world or risk the wrath of trade wars with partners we don't want to upset.

Now, let us be clear.

We don't agree with his decisions, but can understand that it would take an insanely strong upswell of voter support by us Canadians to have him go against the grain on these decisions.

And that doesn't seem to be happening.

Again, to be clear, we don't agree with the decisions ... we're definitely being lead down the wrong fiscal path.

You see ... governments around the world are in a race to the bottom.

They're all actively trying to lower the value of their currencies.

Canada feels it has to join the game so we have to deficit spend, spend, spend to be welcome to the party.

And poor Mark Carney (tongue firmly planted in cheek).

Just this spring he was hinting at raising rates.

Almost all, to a man/woman, of the high flying Bay Street economists were predicting he would raise rates this Fall.

Turns out not only didn't our Bank of Canada raise rates this fall, now there's talk of him slashing rates this Winter (check it out here).

Watching the back and forth on this is some of the most fun that we have.

Seriously, it's awesome watching the seesawing going on.

And it'll only get more interesting.

The global financial powers that be, are clearly leaderless and lost.

But, back to the point that we were trying to get to...

Luckily for all of us, the global and national big pictures have really little impact on your own bottom line.

In the U.S. they've been going through a rough time.

But right through it, some people have been absolutely thriving.

We know because we've been chatting with many of them.

In the next 18 months, the headlines in Canada are likely going to turn more negative.

You'll not want to fall for any of it.

Because if you do, it will paralyze you.

In ALL economic climates, fortunes are being made.

This means you may have to study hard, work even harder, but don't believe for a second believe that you don't have all of the opportunity in the world in front of you.

Too many of our own friends get frustrated at the headlines and stop dreaming, stop working, stop achieving.

We live in one of the very best places in the world right now.

Low-interest rates.  Properties that you can actually make cash flow less than an hour or two away from where many of us live.

Banks that are lending.

Relatively speaking we are the cat's meow right now.

This is THE place to be.  Canada downright rocks.

Make the most of this time, because it's the only time you've got.

Never let the headlines that will be coming out scare you.

Put the blinders on and get to work.

We're here, today, to remind you that we live in a great country, with some of the greatest opportunity in the world.

Everything you want is yours for the taking.

No matter what you read.

Until next time, Your Life! Your Terms!