Paul Meister

SVP Commercial @ Origin Financial

[Paul Meister @therealpmeist]

Startups will rarely have more money, people or brand recognition than the big guys.

So we have to outwork them.

Move faster. Care more. Solve problems quicker. Stay close to customers. Keep going when it gets hard.

You don’t need special talent for that. You need consistency, urgency and grit.

[Paul Meister @therealpmeist]

@Polymarket How about they just use the good old biological definition. You know chromosomes

[Paul Meister @therealpmeist]

The Olympics did it.

Now the World Cup is doing it again.

Every time I watch Team Canada compete, something comes rushing back.

For a few weeks, I remember how proud I am to be Canadian. I remember growing up believing this was the greatest country on Earth. A place people dreamed of coming to because if you worked hard, respected others, and contributed to society, you could build an incredible life.

Then the tournaments end.

And I’m reminded that this doesn’t feel like the Canada I grew up in.

It doesn’t even feel like the Canada I moved back to in 2016.

Before anyone jumps to conclusions, this isn’t about race. My parents were immigrants. Some of my closest friends, coworkers, and mentors are immigrants. Canada has always been strengthened by immigration.

But immigration only works when it’s done responsibly.

For years we’ve added people at one of the fastest rates in the developed world while housing construction, infrastructure, healthcare capacity, and public services haven’t kept pace. That’s not fair to Canadians already here, and it’s not fair to the newcomers who arrive expecting opportunity only to face impossible housing costs, long waits for healthcare, and strained public services.

Housing affordability has become one of the biggest challenges in modern Canadian history. Younger Canadians are delaying home ownership, delaying families, or leaving the country altogether because they don’t believe they can build the life their parents built.

Productivity growth has lagged behind many of our peers. Business investment has slowed. Our economy has become increasingly dependent on population growth rather than productivity growth.

Our healthcare system is under enormous strain. Emergency room closures, family doctor shortages, and record wait times aren’t isolated stories anymore. They’re becoming normal.

Our national debt has grown dramatically over the last decade. Regardless of political party, governments continue promising more spending while future generations inherit the bill.

Crime is becoming a larger concern in many communities. Whether it’s auto theft, violent crime, or repeat offenders cycling through the justice system, more Canadians feel less safe than they did a decade ago.

And we’ve become afraid to have honest conversations.

Too often, legitimate concerns about immigration levels, government spending, crime, or public policy are dismissed as intolerance before the discussion even begins. In a healthy democracy, people should be able to debate policy without immediately assuming the worst about each other’s motives.

None of this means Canada is beyond saving.

Quite the opposite.

I still believe this is one of the greatest countries in the world.

That’s why I care enough to say we’re heading in the wrong direction.

The pride I feel watching Team Canada isn’t nostalgia.

It’s a reminder of what this country can still be if we have the courage to fix what’s broken instead of pretending everything is fine.

I don’t want a different Canada.

I want the Canada that earned the admiration of the world.

[Paul Meister @therealpmeist]

My concern is that immigration and identity politics can become political tools instead of being debated honestly based on what’s best for the country. Canadians should be able to ask tough questions about policy, integration, public safety, and our future without immediately being labeled racist or hateful.

Critical thinking shouldn’t be controversial. Neither should having an honest conversation.

[Paul Meister @therealpmeist]

Canada needs to wake up.

What happened in the UK should be a warning. If public officials were afraid to speak up about horrific crimes because they were worried about being called racist or Islamophobic, that’s insane. Protecting people should always come before protecting politics.

I’m pro-immigration. My parents immigrated here. Some of my best friends and coworkers are immigrants. Immigration has been a huge positive for Canada.

But being against extremism or calling out criminal behaviour doesn’t make someone racist. We need to stop pretending those are the same thing.

We also need to stop blindly trusting government. I don’t trust the right, the left, or the centre to always act in our best interests. Every government should be questioned and held accountable.

[Paul Meister @therealpmeist]

@JoePompliano It’s carney trying to dig us out of a recession

[Paul Meister @therealpmeist]

Claude > ChatGPT

[Paul Meister @therealpmeist]

Third fix: decouple survival from jobs.
Cheap goods help, but only if healthcare, housing, and energy stay affordable.
Population decline isn’t the threat.
Bad transition design is.

[Paul Meister @therealpmeist]

Everyone panics about population decline.
But if AI and robots do the work, fewer workers isn’t the problem.
The real issue is we still tax labor instead of capital, and a few people own the machines.
This isn’t a population crisis. It’s a transition failure.

[Paul Meister @therealpmeist]

Second fix: ownership.
If a few companies own the robots, inequality explodes.
If pensions, workers, and citizens own them, everyone wins.
Same tech. Different outcome.

[Paul Meister @therealpmeist]

Canadians voted for Mark Carney because he said he could stare down the U.S. and handle Trump. That is literally the only reason he won. Instead he pivots to “new world order” nonsense, hedging with China, and eroding the rules that protect Canada. That’s not strength. That’s a bait-and-switch that makes life more expensive for Canadians. Not what people voted for.

[Paul Meister @therealpmeist]

Rules-based systems protect normal people. Power-based systems protect institutions. Calling this “inevitable” doesn’t make it good. It makes higher costs, more volatility, and less control more likely—for Canadians.

[Paul Meister @therealpmeist]

Carney “clarifying” the new world order actually makes it worse. He admits it’s undefined, then lists what’s breaking: global trade rules, the WTO, multilateral deals, financial regulation, and payments. That’s not clarity. That’s rule erosion. When rules fade, power replaces them. Canada loses.

[Paul Meister @therealpmeist]

The scariest part is payments + financial regulation. When global rules erode, governments push more control upstream “for stability.” That doesn’t mean a China-style system tomorrow—but it does mean more centralized oversight, fewer safeguards, and less distance between the state and your money. Canadians should be worried.

[Paul Meister @therealpmeist]

Watch how Mark Carney says it:
“new … world … order.”
Slow. Paused. Deliberate.
That is not an accident.

That phrasing is a signal.
It says: this is inevitable.
It says: trust me.
It says: normal rules no longer apply.

But let’s be clear what this is actually about.
It’s not about helping Canadians.
It’s about protecting state and elite power from low-probability shocks.

[Paul Meister @therealpmeist]

This strategy protects political leverage and institutional power — not grocery bills, not housing affordability, not middle-class stability.

Tail-risk insurance for the state.
Higher cost of living for Canadians.
That’s the trade. And it’s a bad one.

[Paul Meister @therealpmeist]

Canada “pivoting” toward China isn’t about values or helping Canadians. It’s elite risk management. And for households, it’s a bad deal.

Let’s be clear about the so-called “disaster scenarios” this is meant to prevent.

1.A major U.S. trade shock against Canada.
Probability: ~15–25% over 10 years.
Outcome: tariffs, GDP hit, inflation spike.
Reality: possible, but unlikely. Canada is deeply integrated with the U.S. economy.

[Paul Meister @therealpmeist]

A China-hedged world doesn’t reduce household risk.
It shifts power upward to governments and elites while everyday Canadians absorb higher costs and uncertainty.