Alright, here’s the real year-end vibe.It’s December. The roads are a mess, daylight disappears at four in the afternoon, and everybody’s running on a mix of caffeine, stress, and Christmas to-do lists. And if you’ve felt like this year has been heavier than it should have been, you’re not imagining it.The theme of 2025 was “Pressure.”Pressure at the grocery store, where you grab the same stuff you always do and somehow the bill is higher again. Pressure when you open your utility bill and you already know it’s going to sting. Pressure when the car needs something, the kid needs something, the house needs something, and you’re sitting there thinking, didn’t I just pay off the last surprise expense?Cost of living is not a talking point anymore. It’s just daily life. A lot of Canadians are doing everything right and still feeling like they’re falling behind. Not because they stopped working hard, but because the basics got expensive and stayed expensive. When people can’t get ahead, they stop planning. They stop taking chances. They stop feeling optimistic. And that’s a bigger problem than any one price tag.And then, because we can’t help ourselves, we turned the whole year into a political food fight..We had elections, we had turmoil, and we had the usual parade of promises and blaming and posturing. We had a lot of noise and not nearly enough solutions that actually land in someone’s real-world budget. I’m not saying politics doesn’t matter. It does. But it felt like too many leaders were focused on winning the sound bite, owning the other side, and feeding the outrage machine, while regular people just wanted the adults to handle the basics.And yes, housing is part of the affordability mess too. I won’t make this a housing sermon, but you can’t ignore that shelter costs have become a stress multiplier. Renters feel trapped. Owners feel squeezed. People trying to buy feel like the goalposts keep moving. And when housing gets unstable, everything else gets harder. It’s not just about a roof, it’s about whether you can breathe.So what am I hoping for in 2026?Honestly, I’m hoping for relief that you can actually feel. Not a program announcement. Not a press conference. Real relief. The kind that shows up in lower monthly costs, more predictable bills, and a sense that hard work means something again.I’m also hoping we calm down a bit as a country.Not that we stop arguing. Canadians will always argue; it’s basically a hobby. But I’d love to see less toxic nonsense and more normal conversation. Less assuming the worst about people who disagree with you. Less turning every issue into a moral war. More focus on what works. More common sense. More humility.And here’s the part people don’t always like hearing, but it’s true. We can’t outsource everything to the government and then be shocked when we’re disappointed. We also can’t pretend leadership doesn’t matter. It does. But a better year doesn’t start in Ottawa. It starts closer to home..It starts with you, me, and the people we keep around us.If you surround yourself with negativity, outrage, and constant doom, you’re going to feel like everything is hopeless even when it isn’t. If you surround yourself with people who are grounded, practical, and decent, life gets a little steadier. Not perfect. Just steadier. And steadier is underrated.Check on your neighbours. Give someone a break. Tip when you can. Volunteer if you’ve got time. Be patient in the checkout line. Be the person who doesn’t add fuel to every fire. The country doesn’t need more internet heroes. It needs more real-world adults.So that’s my year-end take for the Western Standard holiday callout. Canadians are worn down. Canadians need relief. And Canadians need a bit of a reset in how we treat each other, because the last few years have turned too many of us into walking stress grenades.Now, for the holidays.I hope you get some rest. I hope you enjoy some good meals. I hope you get a laugh that makes you forget about the news for a minute. And I hope 2026 is the year things start to feel lighter again.Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
