Introduction

The economy and the lives of Canadians have been drastically impacted in the last year, resulting in our society being in an unprecedented position. COVID-19 has harmed every element of Canadian life, including education, housing conditions, expenditures, and employment opportunities (Evans, 2020). On the other hand, these lifestyle modifications come at a high price and significantly influence the Canadian economy. According to Yves Giroux, a legislative budget officer, the cost of compensating people who COVID-19 has harmed is likely to be roughly 146 billion Canadian dollars (Flanagan, 2020). It is predicted that the GDP of Canada will decrease by 12% in the year 2020 alone as a result of these expenditures (Flanagan, 2020). For the Canadian government to recover from its current predicament, the Federal government must reduce expenditure, boost revenues, or take on more debt, among other measures (Flanagan, 2020). As a result, while making a choice, one may consider Economic Liberalism as an economic ideology that might be used to put these prospective answers into action.

Economic liberalism, on the other hand, is a system that has been adopted by the modern-day United States and that allows companies, both private and public, to have complete authority over their money, commerce, and property. The system prioritizes individuals’ economic independence, limiting the government’s power (Racio, 2006). State control or involvement over firms and people is strongly opposed by the system, which instead authorizes complete control over demand and supply (Jahan & Mahmud, n.d.). In the end, Democratic Socialism would be the most effective strategy since it enables social and economic choices to be determined by the working class rather than businesses and elites. Rather than allowing the free market to regulate the consumer products industry, it advocates for democratic and cooperative forms of regulation (Arnold, n.d.). Recognizing the present economic scenario amid COVID-19, democratic Socialism would be the most beneficial solution for Canada’s economy. After all, the working class should be making social and economic choices since they are the ones who would be most impacted, rather than large corporate organizations.

Body Paragraphs

Due to the continuing epidemic, there has been a surge in the price of basics such as food, toilet paper, hand sanitizers, masks, and Lysol. Many of the factors contributing to price markup have to do with supply limitations worldwide. For example, lower inputs, whether raw materials or constituent resources, impact the manufacturing industry (Miller et al., 2021). As a result, when manufacturers have a scarcity of supply, some items are in great demand, which is the markup source. COVID-19 has significantly impacted supply chain resilience and food supply chains, mainly due to panic buying, disruptions in supply networks, and imports and labor shortages (Hobbs, 2020). Demand-side shock is seen in Canada, where people have been stockpiling things to exhaustion. Consider the fact that when Canada was placed on lockdown, all local businesses were entirely sold out of vital supplies such as toilet paper, canned foods, bottled water, and a variety of feminine hygiene products. As a result of implementing social distancing rules, panic purchasing behavior is seen here (Hobbs, 2020). Nevertheless, manufacturers reacted promptly to this problem by imposing a limit of one item per individual. Still, they also took advantage of the situation by raising the cost of high-demand items to compensate for the restriction (Hobbs, 2020). In this trying time, if Democratic Socialism were to be adopted, the working class and the general public would have access to these necessities of everyday existence at cheaper costs than they already do since companies do not mark up prices to benefit from the middle and lower classes. As a result, raising prices on necessities of life only enriches the economy while making these difficult times more difficult for the working class. Instead of enormous corporate bureaucracy, decisions should be decided by the working class, who are the ones who would be most impacted.

Everything from pre-school to post-secondary education in Canada has been affected by COVID-19. Academic teaching and learning professions of professors and teachers have been reworked to curb the development of this disease. In other words, students and teachers have been teaching and learning digitally without their consent. There is no change in tuition or fees for schools and universities, and professors and faculty members are still being paid at the same rate, even if they must relocate course content online, teach more extensive courses, and work overtime. Consequently, the transition to vi