Meryl Smith Lawton

Down Time| Wayne MacDonald sits in the Urban Manor TV room.

Ever since news of the subprime mortgage fiasco in the United States broke, Canadians have been waiting for the other shoe to drop.

At the beginning, discussions swirled around how far the damage would spread. During the recent federal election, the Conservatives repeated “The fundamentals of the Canadian economy are sound” so often it became a mantra against an economic downturn.

Then Ontario officially became a have-not province, and bailout schemes north and south of the border dominated the headlines. In October, national housing sales dropped, with the fewest number of houses sold since July 2002, according to the Canadian Real Estate Association.

Even if Alberta’s second quarter update for 2008-2009 does still post a surplus, and spending on carbon capture and public transportation has been reaffirmed, we are still seeing some indications of a tough road ahead. The Fort Hills upgrader has been stalled, if not cancelled. Petro-Canada put the $9.9 billion project on hold in the face of falling oil prices.

The bottom line to all these large and small developments is that we’re all going to be living with less — at least for the foreseeable future. And so, that’s the theme of this issue.

In SEE Magazine’s Living With Less issue, you’ll read about people who are accustomed to living with less, like the five men from Urban Manor in our cover story, and migrant workers from Mexico in the News pages.

Local theatre artist Scott Sharplin also teaches a lesson in restraint as he dissects the budget for an independent theatre production.

In City Life, there’s advice for couples struggling though lean times, and Scott Lingley offers up some cheap meal plans.

So, whether you’re new to the whole down-market racket or an old hand, there’s something here to chew on.