When Justin Trudeau became Canada’s prime minister in 2015, he made a bold promise: to make life better for the middle class. For Shivaan Burke, a resident of Peterborough, Ontario, that promise was enough to inspire her to work for the local Liberal MP. But fast forward to today, and Burke says little has changed for her family.

Peterborough, a town about 80 miles northwest of Toronto, was once a haven for those escaping the city’s sky-high real estate prices. Now, it’s grappling with its own housing crisis. Burke, a contract worker for the local government, finds herself struggling to keep up with rising grocery bills and housing costs.

“It’s hard to see how things have improved,” she says. “Every trip to the store feels like a battle, and housing? Forget about it.”

Burke isn’t alone. Across Canada, many middle-class families are feeling the pinch. A recent survey by the Royal Bank of Canada found that 55% of respondents feel “financially paralyzed” due to rising costs. Groceries and housing have become the top concerns, overshadowing other issues that have turned voters away from Trudeau’s leadership.

Peterborough, once a Liberal stronghold, has grown increasingly disillusioned. The town’s struggles reflect a broader trend across the country, where Trudeau’s promises of a better life for the middle class have been drowned out by the realities of inflation and stagnant wages.

As Trudeau prepares to leave office, his legacy is being shaped not by the progress he promised, but by the growing frustration of Canadians like Burke, who feel left behind by soaring prices and unfulfilled pledges.