The notion people who rent are bums and have nothing to show for is completely nonsense. If you rent and spend all your money on unnecessary consumptions with no regards for your futures, then I say yes you'll have nothing to show for. But the people who rent and save their money and invest wisely can outperform the Canadian real estate over the long run. The long term return for stocks over the last 65 years since the end of WWII is about 10%, where real estate over the long haul is pretty much just the rate of inflation.
This whole Rent vs Buy question comes down to self-control. I hear all the time people tell me that by buying it forces you to save. Don't people have any discipline and control over their actions? Why do I have to get a mortgage from the banks to force myself to save? News flash, I can rent and save my money at the same time. Holy crap what a concept. The guy in the video only give you one side of the story. His side. Yes there is an alternative to buying and it is renting. It makes perfect sense in this overheated Vancouver market so you don't get locked down in big mortgage for the next 25 years.
The guy who've rented and failed in life is the one who don't have self-restraint and did not save & invest. The whole buy a house to built up equity is built on a false premise because it assumed people have little ability to control themselves otherwise. If you are sensible and rational, renting and investing can outperform real estate. And by investing in stocks wisely I don't feel like I'm missing any upside in canadian housing, in fact, I sleep pretty sound at night knowing I have no exposure to this city's real estate market.