Joey Mai poses for a photograph in North Vancouver, B.C., on Monday, Oct. 27, 2025.
Young Canadians are navigating adulthood during uncertain times. Rising costs, mental health struggles, and delayed milestones define many experiences. Yet, across the country, young people continue to find meaning, joy, and optimism. Their stories reveal resilience, honesty, and hope shaped by a changing Canada.
Anxiety, Attention, and Emotional Awareness
For Violet Rode, an 18-year-old theatre student in Montreal, emotional awareness is everywhere. She notices anxiety in classrooms through constant movement and restless energy. Her theatre training has sharpened her ability to observe human behavior.
Rode believes the pandemic disrupted her generation’s comfort with social interaction. She describes COVID-19 as a setback to emotional confidence. Still, she considers herself optimistic, even during difficult moments.
She feels sadness should not be questioned or minimized. Emotions, she says, are always valid. Rode avoids constant news consumption, finding it overwhelming and discouraging. Instead, she seeks lighter online content that brings joy.
Financial stress remains a major concern for her generation. Rode also worries about unhealthy online spaces affecting mental health and relationships. Her advice is simple. Trust your feelings. Accept them. Being human means feeling deeply.
Working Hard, Falling Behind
Logan Ancell, 22, knows the weight of financial pressure well. After high school, he left Revelstoke for Vancouver to study media arts. The costs quickly became unmanageable. Balancing school and survival proved impossible.
Ancell dropped out and worked longer hours to afford rent and food. Even then, money fell short. He skipped meals and relied on cheap food. His health suffered.
Social connections also felt strained. He struggled with casual dating culture and widespread drug use. Eventually, he returned home earlier this year.
Back in Revelstoke, his life feels steadier. He works a restaurant job, spends time outdoors, and reconnects with family. Fishing and skateboarding help him manage stress.
For Ancell, success looks different now. Stability and health matter more than rushing milestones.
Delayed Dreams in a Tough Economy
At 27, Bhavik Sharma feels life unfolded slower than expected. Like many peers, he once believed a six-figure salary meant security. Today, that assumption no longer holds.
Living in Toronto made saving nearly impossible. High rent, groceries, and utilities consumed most of his income. In August, he moved back with his parents in Kitchener.
The change helped. A better job and lower expenses now allow him to save. Homeownership feels possible again.
Still, Sharma believes his generation faced tougher economic conditions. Rising costs delayed major life goals. He feels earlier policy decisions might have eased the burden. Even so, his outlook is improving. Progress, though slower, feels real.
Opportunity Meets Self-Doubt
For Joey Mai, 26, opportunity often arrives with anxiety. A professional chef and business development manager, she faced self-doubt when offered a marketing role with Culinary Team Canada.
Though qualified, Mai questioned herself. Friends recognized the feeling as impostor syndrome. She accepted the role anyway.
Mai immigrated to Canada from Vietnam in 2017. She trained in culinary arts and later studied business and marketing. Today, she works in tech while volunteering in culinary leadership.
Her dream is deeply personal. She wants to open a Vietnamese-Western fusion restaurant in Metro Vancouver. Serving her parents a meal there would mean success.
Mai knows her path challenges traditional expectations. Her message to her parents reflects faith and determination. She hopes they trust her journey.
A Generation Still Moving Forward
The challenges facing young Canadians are real. Anxiety, affordability, and delayed milestones shape daily life. Yet, these stories reveal adaptability and quiet strength.
Despite uncertainty, young Canadians continue to build futures on their own terms. Their hopes remain alive, shaped by resilience rather than despair.
